Air Force officials are investigating the death of Maj. John Gerrie, 42, who was found dead at Al Udeid AB, Qatar, on Jan. 16. Gerrie, of Nickerson, Kan., was assigned to the 453rd Electronic Warfare Squadron, JBSA-Lackland, Texas, according to the Defense Department. Gerrie was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. He died from a “non-combat related incident,” the Pentagon said.
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…