Special Air Guard Unit Gears Up: The Texas Air National Guard’s 204th Security Forces Squadron, which calls Ft. Bliss home, has been training for border security duty, reports El Paso’s KFOX TV. However, unit airmen tell KFOX that the one-of-a-kind Air Force unit is not part of President’s Bush’s “Guard to the border” plan, which restricts Guardsmen to a non-security, non-law enforcement role. The 204th is a heavy weapons squadron geared to defend air bases and attached to the rapid-deploying active duty 820th Security Forces Group. Members have deployed—sometimes with only a few hours notice—to such places as Albania, Africa, Southwest Asia, and to hurricane duty in the states.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.