The California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing completed the 1,000th “save” in its four-decade-long history. Aircrews and pararescuemen deployed to Afghanistan reached the milestone on May 18 after rescuing an Afghan national policeman who had suffered a gunshot wound, according to a May 20 wing release. “The wing is credited with more than 400 combat saves and nearly 600 civilian saves. In addition, the wing has assisted in over 600 other saves,” states the release. A mission is considered a “save” if the rescued individual was in danger of losing his/her life, a limb, or eyesight. The 129th RQW is based at Moffett Federal Airfield northwest of San Jose.
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…