Two quick-thinking Texas Air National Guardsmen know the answer. They fixed up a custom fuel truck nozzle that enabled them to refuel 100 stranded civilian buses at Ellington Field in Houston. The buses were needed to continue evacuation efforts for Hurricane Rita. MSgt. Lynn Bailey, of the 147th Fighter Wing’s fuel shop, and SSgt. Vic Taylor, a refueling mechanic, developed the makeshift nozzle. Using this system, the Guard refueled 260 buses overall in Beaumont and Houston.
A new report by the Defense Department’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation found that Texas and Virginia are America’s top recipients of defense spending, some $83 billion and $64.3 billion, respectively. Texas and California top the spending categories for Air Force contracts and personnel, some $17 billion and $15…