The 673rd Air Base Wing has begun operations at Joint Base Elmendorf in Alaska. It is the supporting unit for the new joint installation created under BRAC 2005 by combining Elmendorf Air Force Base with Fort Richardson Army Garrison near Anchorage. Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins, head of Alaskan Command, was among the dignitaries at the wing’s activation ceremony July 30. JB Elmendorf is one of 12 joint bases created under BRAC 2005. (Elmendorf photo caption by MSgt. Jeremiah Erickson)
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…