The 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., has gone more than one year without a chargeable foreign-object-debris incident, marking a record for the B-1B community. “In the world of aviation, FOD can become a major contributor to maintenance costs,” sometimes causing more than $1 million in damage to an aircraft engine, said MSgt. Larry Anderson, 28th BW FOD manager. Chargeable FOD incidents are those that cost more than $20,000 to repair and could have been prevented by airmen exercising attention to detail and better vigilance. Anderson attributes the wing’s anti-FOD success to the time taken to educate airmen on the fightline on FOD prevention. “It is a team effort from senior leadership on down, and right now we are winning that fight,” he said. In March, FOD caused an engine fire on one of the wing’s B-1Bs during takeoff from Ellsworth, resulting in more than $900,000 worth of damage. However, that event was not a chargeable FOD incident, wing spokesman SSgt. Eric Bolt confirmed to the Daily Report Dec. 29. (Includes Ellsworth report by SSgt. Eric Bolt)
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.