The venerable B-52 bomber hit another milestone recently—the 50th anniversary of the combat ready declaration for the first B-52 wing. The Air Force on March 12, 1956, declared the 93rd Bombardment Wing, Barksdale AFB, La., combat ready. USAF had activated the new unit less than a year earlier, on June 29, 1955. USAF aircrews took the bomber into combat for the first time on June 18, 1965, during the Vietnam War.
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…