An op-ed in The Reporter expresses support for the commissioners of the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission, who, earlier this month, refused to “rubber-stamp” a request by Wal-Mart to build a super center near Travis AFB, Calif. Commissioner John Foster had the foresight to bring a map of Dover AFB, Del., with the site of the 2006 C-5 crash marked, and overlay it onto a map of Travis. The proposed developed lay within the crash area. Should “even one such accident” striking a “store packed” with shoppers “could be a reason for the federal government to shut down the base and eliminate the 14,000 jobs.”
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.