The Clovis (N.M.) News Journal reports that Cannon AFB, N.M., will experience a “bumpy ride” for the next few years as the Air Force closes out F-16 operations at the base and turns it into an Air Force Special Operations Command facility. First, Cannon’s base workforce of active duty, civilians, and contractors will drop from nearly 4,500 to around 3,200. The AFSOC changeover then brings “rapid growth beginning in 2008. Long-term, the base workforce and family members should grow by around 17 percent above today’s total of around 8,900.
The Pentagon is considering ditching the Air Force’s plan to buy the E-7 Wedgetail as it looks to outsource the airborne target-tracking mission to space, defense officials indicated this week.