Moody AFB, Ga., is the Air Force’s preferred location to train Afghan air force pilots and maintainers how to operate the AAF’s A-29 Light Air Support aircraft, announced service officials on June 25. The Air Force selected Moody “because the airfield and airspace are available without disruption during the required timeframe, and suitable facilities are immediately available for the new occupants to move into,” said Timothy Bridges, the service’s deputy assistant secretary for installations. Moody is also “the lowest cost option,” he said in the service’s release. The Air Force also identified Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and Shaw AFB, S.C., as the alternative sites for this mission. The Pentagon is procuring a fleet of 20 A-29s for the Afghans to give them indigenous air interdiction, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance capabilities. Under current plans, the A-29s may arrive at Moody as early as September for initial cadre training; the first Afghan trainees are expected to begin training in February 2015, states the release. The initial proposed commitment for this training entails a limited presence at Moody into 2018, according to the release. (See also Chambliss-Isakson release.)