Air Mobility Command has embarked on a competition to find a commercial service for aerial delivery functions across the command. By contracting out this service, AMC officials expect to be able to eliminate 93 enlisted positions at four facilities: Charleston AFB, S.C.; Dyess AFB, Tex.; McChord AFB, Wash.; and Pope AFB, N.C. The list of aerial delivery functions comprise building and rigging airdrop loads and aircraft loads; packing, repairing, and drying parachutes; scheduling and coordinating load operations; and performing airdrop inspections, aerial control, and drop-zone recovery. We are eager to learn just how many commercial firms provide “drop-zone recovery”
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…