The Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing at Schenectady, N.Y., is headed to Afghanistan, marking the first time the 109th has deployed as a unit since the Vietnam War, reports the Albany Times-Union. Individual members of the C-130 tactical airlift unit have deployed to the war on terror but with other outfits. The 109th is perhaps best known for flying its ski-equipped LC-130s for missions in the Polar Regions.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.

