Modifications to USAF KC-135 tanker aircraft at Fairchild AFB, Wash., will bring 28 new jobs and $2 million in economic impact to the Spokane area, reports the Spokesman Review.com. The workers—13 full-time Air National Guardsmen and 15 Boeing personnel—will install mechanical brakes on the aircraft’s stabilizer trim system. To create the 13 Air Guard positions, the Washington ANG’s 141st Air Refueling Wing plans to convert some current part-time positions—the traditional weekend warrior type spots—to full-time positions.
Air Force leaders hail recent strike missions like Midnight Hammer as a shining example of operational readiness, but Airmen who played a role in the bombing raid on Iran worry that the service is ill-prepared to mount an extended campaign of long-range strikes against a peer adversary.
