Lt. Gen. Raymond Johns, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs on the Air Staff since October 2006, has been nominated for promotion to the rank of general for a yet-to-be-announced position. While there has been no public Air Force or Defense Department release on the nomination, Johns’ name appears on the Senate’s June 4 nominee list for appointment to four-star level. The rumor mill has it that Johns would take over Air Mobility Command from Gen. Arthur Lichte, who has led that organization since September 2007.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…