Lt. Gen. James Jackson, head of Air Force Reserve Command, selected CMSgt. Cameron Kirksey to be AFRC’s next command chief, according to a release from the organization. Kirksey has been serving as command chief of AFRC’s 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead ARB, Fla., since June 2011. He will replace CMSgt. Kathleen Buckner, who resigned in April for personal reasons, according to press reports. She had held the post since December 2011. “I look forward to being the eyes, ears, and voice of our enlisted ranks to General Jackson, and I want every airman who is a part [of] AFRC to know that I am extremely honored to serve them as their senior enlisted leader,” said Kirksey, in AFRC’s May 23 release. A native of Silas, Ala., he enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in March 1988. His background is in the logistics career field, specializing in fuels management. (Robins report by SSgt. Alexy Saltekoff)
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…