The Air Force has opened a new dormitory for entry-level enlisted airmen at Shaw AFB, S.C., that features an innovative, energy-saving geothermal climate-control system. The Associated Press reported March 9 (via Columbia’s WIS TV 10 news station) that the $17 million three-story dorm uses a system of 174 wells to circulate water underground to heat and cool the building, which will house 144 airmen in private rooms that share kitchenettes. A second such dorm is planned for Shaw.
As the threat of Iranian-made drones grew, the Air Force rushed last year to equip F-15E Strike Eagles in the Middle East with a cheap, cost-effective way of defeating them. The service fielded the new capability in roughly a week.
