Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, head of the Air National Guard, told officer and enlisted airmen attending ANG’s 2012 Senior Leadership Conference in Leesburg, Va., last week, “As we plot the way ahead for the Air National Guard, we have to shift our strategy.” He and the new National Guard Bureau Chief, Army Gen. Frank J. Grass, both acknowledged that DOD’s severe financial constraints make change in the Guard inevitable. Grass urged the assembled airmen to “embrace new sunrise mission opportunities.” Wyatt emphasized, “If we take care of our people, if we train them properly, if we give them relevant missions into the future … we’ll be just fine as an Air National Guard.” The day before start of the SLC, as Wyatt addressed Air Guard representatives from all states, territories, and the District of Columbia meeting for their annual strategic planning system discussion, he reminded attendees that the Air Guard offers “the best value proposition for this country in the area of defense.” (ANG release by SMSgt. Jerry Bynum; NGB release by Col. Nahaku McFadden)
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…