Air Force Reserve Command’s 939th Air Refueling Wing in Portland, Ore., inactivated three of its units on May 6, beginning the BRAC 2005-directed shutdown of the wing, which has operated at Portland since 1963. AFRC has advanced the wing’s closure from 2010 to June 2008 to facilitate the search for new jobs for unit members. AFRC’s 304th Rescue Squadron, a separate unit, is supposed to remain at Portland.
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…