According to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Government of Singapore has decided to train its F-16 pilots with the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing. He said in a Jan. 7 statement, “The decision will bring an additional $60 million into Tucson’s economy and is a vote of confidence in the future of the Tucson Air National Guard in light of the pending evaluation by the Air Force for the stationing of the F-35 Lightning at Tucson IAP.” The Ohio ANG’s 178th FW at Springfield learned Jan. 4 it would not get the new contract, reports the Springfield News-Sun. The 178th FW, which loses its F-16s under BRAC 2005, expects to wrap up its training mission for Dutch F-16 pilots this fall. An Ohio National Guard official told the newspaper that although the Air Force and Air Guard had discussed a number of missions, “all of that is still up in the air.”
The Air Force has spent more than two years studying cancer risks to Airmen who work with the service's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now lawmakers in Congress are placing fresh scrutiny on the issue and have prepared legislation that would direct the service to clean silos and launch facilities.