The Air Force will save $12 million by relocating the 57th Weapons Squadron and its C-17 Weapons Instructor Course (WIC) to JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., according to a press release from Air Mobility Command. Both are currently located at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., which has no dedicated C-17s assigned to support the training. As a result, aircraft and man-hours had to be repurposed to support the two five-month long courses led by the Weapons Squadron every year. McChord was selected because it has long supported the course by supplying C-17s and maintainers. New facilities for the course will be constructed at a cost of about $800,000, and the first course at McChord is planned for July 2017.
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.