: According to a Sept. 18 report by KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, N.M., the agreement New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced Sept. 17 between the Air Force and Air National Guard that would make the New Mexico Air Guard’s 150th Fighter Wing an associate of the active duty 58th Special Operations Wing when the 150th FW loses its F-16 fighters next year is not final—it rests on a “handshake,” per Richardson. State officials have been working to find a mission since the Air Force issued its 2010 fighter cut list this spring, leaving the 150th out in the cold. Per KRQE, Richardson said such handshake agreements are “usually honored.” A Pentagon spokesman told the news station that details of the agreement are “predecisional.”
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
