Aircrew from Air Force Reserve Command’s 908th Airlift Wing in Montgomery, Ala., proved that a C-130 could transport and orient an Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System while airborne. Linking to the aircraft’s Joint Precision Air Drop System for GPS data, these airmen helped show that it is possible to initialize the HIMARS fire control system in flight, minimizing the rocket launcher’s set-up time on the ground. This “hot panel” capability allows strikes against time-sensitive targets and reduces system vulnerability, said Army Maj. Michael Fitzgerald of the HIMARS program. “The Air Force’s ability to transport equipment and personnel around the battlefield and to locations that wheeled transport cannot go is imperative to deliver ground-based firepower in a timely manner,” added Fitzgerald. Pending evaluation of flight data, this testing will culminate in a live-fire demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (Maxwell report by Gene Hughes)
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.