Airmen with Air Force Reserve Command’s 927th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill AFB, Fla., have installed a prototype interior lighting system in one of MacDill’s KC-135 tankers. The lighting system provides 40 times more light than the aircraft’s existing 1950s-era lighting, making it much easier for medical personnel to attend to patients during aeromedical evacuation missions. “This new lighting system will increase the quality of care our troops can receive exponentially,” said Col. Thom Pemberton, 927th ARW operations group commander. The system has 12 LED units mounted on a ceiling rail. Medical staff can adjust the LED units to provide light where needed and can turn on or off individual units. Patriot Taxiway Industries of Lomira, Wis., supplied the system, which is already in production for more of MacDill’s KC-135s. (MacDill report by SSgt. Shawn C. Rhodes)
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…