Air Combat Command boss Gen. John Corley has appointed Brig. Gen. Mark Barrett, commander of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., to head the accident investigation board looking into the fatal B-52 crash July 21 off the coast of Guam. The B-52 had deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La. According to a July 25 statement from Langley, Barrett, as president of the board, must offer an opinion as to the cause of the crash that claimed the lives of six airmen.
The Air Force still needs more than 300 combat squadrons, but the biggest priority is not number of squadrons but capability, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 22. He also suggested the records set by the Next Generation Air Dominance prototype likely have more to do…