The 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., has just marked the 10th anniversary of the loss of four of its airmen, when a B-1 crashed during a training flight on Sept. 19, 1997, reports A1C Kimberly Moore Limrick. Killed in the accident were Col. Anthony Beat, pilot and 28th BW vice commander; Maj. Kirk Cakerice, instructor pilot; Maj. Clay Culver, weapons system officer; and Capt. Gary Everett, weapons system officer. “We learned from the crash and changes were made to aircrew training, which has paid dividends in that no B-1 has crashed since then while flying the same mission profile,” said retired Lt. Col. Clete Knaub, who was a 37th Bomb Squadron maintenance officer at the time of the crash.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
