The Air National Guard’s 186th Air Refueling Wing in Meridian, Miss., will gain a new Joint Cargo Aircraft mission and an Air Force War Fighting Headquarters detachment by Fiscal 2011, announced Gov. Haley Barbour last week. Under BRAC 2005, the 186th ARW loses its KC-135 tankers. The governor expects the new missions to add about 180 jobs.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
