Air Force Reserve Command has formally changed the name of its 940th Air Refueling Wing to the 940th Wing to recognize the new multi-mission nature of the unit at Beale AFB, Calif. The wing, which lost its KC-135s as part of BRAC 2005 changes, has partnered with the active duty 9th Reconnaissance Wing to conduct intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance missions, employing the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, and has airmen performing distributed ground system, air operations center, and air forces operations missions. “It was an act of wisdom to call it the 940th Wing instead of naming it a reconnaissance wing, command and control wing, or ISR wing because we are not constrained by limitations,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Padilla, commander of the 10th Air Force, which oversees the wing. Col. Jeffrey Mineo, 940th Wing commander, praised his airmen, saying, “In the year-and-a-half that I’ve been here, I have seen folks do some amazing things; I am truly humbled to be part of this major milestone in the history of the 940th.” (940th Wing report by TSgt. Luke Johnson)
In the wake of a major Chinese military shakeup, the head of U.S. Space Command warned of China’s “breathtakingly fast” advances in space during visits to Japan and South Korea. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s trip to the Indo-Pacific is his first overseas visit since taking command of SPACECOM in January.