Sen. Kent Conrad (d-N.D.) has been talking with Air Force leaders to “win support for basing” some of the service’s new tanker aircraft at Grand Forks AFB, N.D. Such a move would fly in the face of the BRAC 2005 direction to remove the base’s KC-135s, a plan that supposedly is on track for 2010. A statement from Conrad’s office says, “Pentagon leaders told Senator Conrad they believe Grand Forks is very well positioned to be one of the first bases to receive the next generation tanker.” The service expects to begin receiving new tankers in 2011. Grand Forks is slated to get unmanned aerial vehicles, possibly both Global Hawks and Predators.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
