Officials at Nellis AFB, Nev., next week will redesignate the 98th Range Wing as the Nevada Test and Training Range, a direct reporting unit to the US Air Force Warfare Center, also at Nellis. The Air Force activated the wing in 2001 to maintain and oversee the Nevada Test and Training Range complex. Its role will remain the same after the name change. The 2.9 million acres of land and 12,000 square miles of airspace comprising the range complex represent a “crown jewel of the Air Force,” said Col. John Montgomery, outgoing 98th RANW commander. He added, “preserving, protecting, and modernizing that airspace is a national imperative.” The range incorporates roughly 1,200 targets, realistic threat air defense systems, and air aggressors to present aircrews with a challenging aerial training environment. (Nellis report by Charles Ramey)
The Air Force will promote 11.07 percent of eligible master sergeants to senior master sergeant this year, a decline from last cycle that snaps a four-year streak of increases. Out of a pool of 13,315 eligible individuals, 1,474 new E-8s were selected.