National Guard Bureau Chief Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum praised the efforts of thousands of Army and Air National Guard troops pressed into service in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Blum said the response proved the Guard could handle the federal mission (deployments to some 40 countries) as well as stateside crises “at the same time,” without putting at risk the overseas mission or homeland security.
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.