Air Mobility Command KC-135s and KC-10s have flown 14 air refueling sorties, as of Feb. 12, to support the US and Canadian aircraft providing overflight patrols for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, refueling principally USAF E-3 AWACS and Canadian CF-18 aircraft. AMC’s 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., has overseen these refueling sorties and planning for aeromedical evacuation flights. “We started laying out the aeromedical evacuation plans to support the 2010 Winter Olympics in July,” said Lt. Col Duncan Smith, chief of the 618th TACC aeromedical evacuation division. He added, “We’re poised to support any and all Aeromedical evacuation needs if we get the call; at the same time, we have daily requirements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations.” In 2009, the AMC medevac force flew an average of 52 patient movements per day. (618th TACC report by Capt. Justin Brockhoff)
After weeks of negotiations, top lawmakers unveiled a compromise version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, priming Congress to pass the annual policy bill before the end of the year. For the Air Force, the bill would carry major implications for the future of the service’s fleet of aircraft.