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ir Force Reserve Command’s 336th Air Refueling Squadron at March ARB, Calif., flew two weeks’ worth of flying operations with the Egyptian Air Force last month. SSgt. Amy Abbott reports that the US airmen flew day and night sorties, conducting some 40 to 50 refuelings for Egyptian F-16s and Mirages on each flight. Lt. Col. Al Oliver, 4th Air Force tanker scheduler, called the activity a “great opportunity” that extended beyond the March airmen. “It gives people a good opportunity to see how our Air Force operates and allows us to really be ambassadors for America,” he said. The 336th ARS took three seasoned boom operators who could handle the sortie load and the additional burden of speaking very slowly and clearly to ensure the Egyptian pilots understood the instructions. According to Oliver, the Egyptian airmen were “very happy” to receive information from the instructor boom operators in real-time.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
