For the first time, the Air National Guard is receiving funding for storefront recruiting facilities as part of the National Guard Bureau’s main budget. That will allow all ANG wings to place recruitment centers out in local communities, building stronger relationships with them, according to SMSgt. Greg Renz, the Air Guard’s recruiting operations superintendent. “We can expand our footprint across America and maybe recruit from some communities [where] we haven’t been before,” he explained. He added, “The funding will pay for the leases and the expenses associated with having a storefront.” The funding change took effect in Fiscal 2011. In the past, the money had to come from leftover ANG recruiting dollars each year or the units had to pony up themselves, said Renz. Each storefront facility will have a specialized look directly related to the wing’s mission. (NGB report by TSgt. John Orrell)
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…