Air Mobility Command will cease operations Friday to refocus airmen on safety command-wide. Aircraft taxiing accidents since October alone—the start of Fiscal 2012—have already exceeded the number of similar mishaps reported during the entire previous fiscal year, explained AMC Commander Gen. Raymond Johns. “We must sharpen our focus on safety in order to continue to successfully execute our global mobility mission,” wrote 18th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay in a message to leaders. He added, “Recent on-duty mishaps have highlighted the importance of emphasizing to our airmen the most basic safety principles of good risk management, attention to detail, and compliance with standard operating procedures.” Vehicular incidents topped the concern list, though maintenance, cargo handling, and flight-line safety will be key training themes during Friday’s safety down day. “The bottom line is these mishaps are preventable,” said Lt. Col. Jackie Breeden, 60th Air Mobility Wing safety officer at Travis AFB, Calif. (Travis report by Nick DeCicco)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.