Air Education and Training Command officials awarded a $178 million contract for Initial Flight Screening activities to Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Doss Aviation. The Air Force decided last year to dispense with its six-year-old program employing several civilian flight schools to conduct introductory flight training, instead switching to a single operation. Doss now will evaluate all USAF candidates hoping to gain a pilot or combat systems officer training slot. Officials say Doss will provide a turn-key operation, offering all services, facilities, and equipment, including housing, transportation, facilities, and security. IFS students are scheduled to begin training at the company’s Pueblo, Color., facility on Oct. 1, 2006.
Three B-1B Lancers from the 7th Bomb Wing flew over the Indo-Pacific alongside F-16s from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force as part of a joint large force exercise. The mission began and ended in the continental U.S. The bombers flew 31 hours and landed Jan. 11.