Some of the KC-135 tankers with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing for several years have sported some unit-inspired nose art, through the efforts of the wing’s head of maintenance, Lt. Col. Tom Hess. TSgt. Brian Jones reports that Hess had placed an ad and tried an art school, finally finding an artist—Donna Pitaro—close to home. She is the sister of a unit member. Aircraft crew chiefs get to provide the design ideas, as long as they comply with regulations and contain one element dictated by Hess. He wants the art to contain a Strategic Air Command fist to “honor the legacy of the aircraft,” says Hess.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. still “believes” in his mantra of “Accelerate Change or Lose”—and indicated the doctrinal changes it produced when he was Air Force Chief of Staff played a role in the service’s recent response to Iran’s aerial assault on Israel, he…