President Obama signed a bill into law that’s designed to streamline airport screening procedures for service members and their families traveling on official orders. H.R. 1801, the Risk-based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act, gives the Transportation Security Administration six months to implement a plan “to provide expedited security screening services for a member of the armed forces, and, to the extent possible, any accompanying family member.” The service personnel must be in uniform and present documentation indicating official orders for air transportation departing from a primary airport to qualify, according to the legislation. It also calls for TSA to establish standard guidelines for screening military uniform items, such as combat boots. Obama signed the legislation on Jan. 3. (AFPS report by Elaine Sanchez) (H.R. 1801 full text)
A newly-released Air Force plan to replace the C-5 and C-17 airlifters with a single airplane type called the Next-Generation Air Lifter (NGAL) will keep those fleets in service another 20 and 50 years, respectively. The plan will likely require a service life extension for the C-17 fleet.
