Airmen at Travis AFB, Calif., have the distinction of having trained the first three Japan Air Self Defense Force boom operators. The three Japanese airmen, who had served as loadmasters, received four months of training at Travis. First, they attended a six-month language course at Lackland AFB, Tex., followed by three weeks at Altus AFB, Okla., for the basic boom operator course. At Travis, they got to learn how to use the KC-10 refueling apparatus, offering them a similar type operational environment for Japan’s new KC-767 tankers.
The Air Force has finished resurrecting a B-1B Lancer, completing a yearslong process to transform a bomber that had been stored for parts in the Arizona desert into the new flagship of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.