Construction in now complete of the new Ellison Onizuka Satellite Operations Facility at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The $40 million facility will house the 21st Space Operations Squadron. The unit is a geographically-separated component of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, Colo. The squadron manages the Air Force satellite control network. Vandenberg officials held the facility’s dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 30. Prior to relocating to Vandenberg, the 21st SOS operated at Onizuka AFS, Calif., which was officially shuttered on July 28. Vandy’s new facility is named after Col. Ellison Onizuka, an Air Force astronaut who died aboard Space Shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986. Onizuka’s widow, Lorna, spoke at the dedication ceremony. (Vandenberg report by SrA. Steve Bauer)
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…