The Air Force broke ground last week for a new $8 million joint squadron operations facility that will serve as the nerve center for the Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 137th Air Refueling Wing and Air Force Reserve Command’s 507th ARW. The redesignated 137th ARW is the first reserve associate unit under USAF’s Total Force plan. The Air Guard unit converted from airlift to air refueling under BRAC 2005 and began helping to fly and maintain the 12 KC-135s of the 507th ARW earlier this year. The AFRC wing was slated to receive funding for a new ops building, but officials of both wings pushed to combine efforts into one larger structure. “By combining funding sources and combining mutual joint use aspects such as the joint use auditorium, we are able to get a facility that will better satisfy the operational needs for both,” said Joe Wade, 507th ARW facility program manager. (507th ARW report by Lt. Col. Rich Curry)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
