The West Virginia Air National Guard’s 167th Airlift Wing at Martinsburg ANG Base completed the last phase of a five-year infrastructure project to support its transition to the C-5 Galaxy transport, according to wing officials. Extending the base’s taxiway alpha to enable the massive airlifters to launch from the runway overrun without back-taxiing and turning around was “the last military construction project for the base’s C-5 bed down,” said Maj. Paul Henry, Martinsburg’s deputy base engineer, in an Aug. 8 release. The final $10 million taxiway upgrade “will save a lot of fuel and a lot of wear and tear on the landing gear,” he added. The 167th AW began converting from the C-130 to the C-5 in 1999; it now operates a force of 11 Galaxies. Reconfiguring the airfield layout to handle the C-5s required widening and realigning taxiways, installing new lighting, and reworking access roads, costing approximately $50 million, states the release. (Martinsburg report by SSgt. Sheree Grebenstein)
Airman 1st Class Marcus White-Allen concocted a story to cover up that he fired his M18 9mm pistol into Airman Braden Lovan’s chest killing him on July 20, two Airmen from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, WY testified during separate courts martial proceedings on Oct. 30-31.
