One of the legendary Doolittle Raiders helped usher a unit he commanded from bombers into the space arena, as Air Force Reserve Command reactivated the 380th Bomb Squadron as the 380th Space Control Squadron in Colorado Springs, Colo. On Sept. 6, retired Col. William Bower, the last commander of the 380th Bomb Group, parent of the 380th BS during World War II, passed the squadron colors to Col. Jeffrey Ansted, commander of Air Force Reserve Command’s 310th Space Wing. Ansted, in turn, turned over the colors to the first commander of the 380th SPCS, Lt. Col. Michael Assid. According to a Sept. 19 release, the ceremony took place under the wings of a restored B-25 bomber, called Barbie III, which then took attendees for flights around the area. Airmen of the 380th SPCS will form a classic associate unit with the active duty 16th SPCS at Schriever Air Force Base. (380th SPCS report by 1st Lt. Joseph Fixemer)
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.