Airmen Continue Fighting Wildfires

Airmen Continue Fighting Wildfires: As of July 2, Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists from several states were into the seventh day of helping fight the wildfires that have ravaged large parts of northern California since late June. These airmen are operating under the auspices of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group out of McClellan Airfield in Sacramento, flying eight C-130 transport aircraft specially equipped with 3,000-gallon tanks for dropping fire retardant on the flames. The 302nd AEG includes aircraft and personnel from ANG’s 153rd Airlift Wing in Cheyenne, Wyo., and 145th AW in Charlotte, N.C., and AFRC’s 302nd AW at Peterson AFB, Colo. Marine Corps and Navy Reserve helicopters equipped with specialized firefighting buckets are also supporting these efforts. As of midday on July 2, these assets combined had flown approximately 140 missions and dropped close to 287,000 gallons of fire retardant. The California ANG’s 146th AW from Channel Islands ANGS was also transporting personnel, cargo, and equipment in support of these activities. (McClellan report by SSgt. Luke Johnson and NGB report by MSgt. Greg Rudl)

7/7/2008

Verbatim

To Be Clear
“Just like in my business, the issues that go badly get all of the attention. I think, to be clear with you, there are many things that are managed well every day in the Air Force.”
—John Young, Pentagon acquisition executive, speaking to defense reporters on the state of Air Force acquisition, Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2008.

Verbatim

F-22 Options
“They have two choices. On January 21st, they can obligate the $90 million and decide there's some chance ... that they will buy the airplanes and they'd rather preserve the option to buy [them] at no additional cost to the taxpayer. Or, they could chose not to obligate the $90 million and accept that they still have a decision to be made between then and March 1st. But that decision may cost the taxpayer more money.”
—DOD acquisition czar John Young on how releasing only $50 million of the $140 million authorized by Congress to keep the F-22 production line active until March 2009 still preserves options for the new Administration, Capitol Hill, Nov. 19, 2008.