Congressional defense appropriators added funding in Fiscal 2012 for the Air Force to procure a C-17 to replace the loss of another C-17 that crashed at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in July 2010. The Air Force did not request this replacement, but lawmakers included the $225 million in the 2012 omnibus spending bill that President Obama signed into law late last month. USAF spokesman Maj. Chad Steffey confirmed to the Daily Report that the extra aircraft will bring the size of the service’s total C-17 buy to 224 airframes to meet its authorized fleet size of 223. The Air Force already has let contracts to Boeing for 218 of those airframes. Steffey said the additional aircraft has not been added yet to the production schedule at Boeing’s assembly line in Long Beach, Calif., but the Air Force anticipates taking delivery of it in early 2013.
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.