W
ashington state’s Democratic Senatorial delegation—Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray—have put in play an amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill to save the 36th Rescue Flight at Fairchild AFB, Wash. The amendment (S.A. 358) would restore some $4 million to the Administration’s budget—there was no money for the 36th—and would direct the Defense Secretary to “ensure that no action is taken to deactivate the 36th Rescue Flight or to reassign or reorganize any of the search and rescue capabilities of that unit.” In a joint statement, Cantwell commented that the unit’s UH-1 helicopters “train thousands of aircrews each year and provide critical search and rescue capabilities for Northwest communities and the nation.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.