The California Department of Veterans Affairs has approved the preliminary design of the Air Force memorial slated for the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in the town of Igo, near Redding, reports the Anderson Valley Post. Sculptor Gideon Turner is now finalizing his concept—a 14-foot bronze and stainless steel statue titled “Into the Wild Blue Yonder”—meant to symbolize the Air Force’s history and mission. The monument will include a bronze globe, resting on a pyramid with a stainless steel contrail circling the globe and thrusting upward. The memorial committee hopes to have this monument in place and dedicated in 2013. The committee seeks to raise approximately $400,000 to $500,000 to erect the monument and care for the memorial, according to the newspaper.
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,…