The 7th Contracting Squadron at Dyess AFB, Tex., took the Air Force Secretary’s 2012 small business special achievement award, according to a base release. The award recognized the unit’s efforts in obligating more than 95 percent of its contracts to small businesses in Fiscal 2012, work totaling in excess of $64 million, states the Dec. 17 release. “We proactively sought to identify opportunities for small businesses early by working with the Small Business Development Center and Small Business Association,” said Ron Miller, Dyess’ 7th CONS business director. Among the squadron’s activities to promote its ties with small businesses were four outreach meetings with local Abilene business leaders, states the release. “Working with small businesses to accrue assets for Dyess is a win-win for the base and the community,” said 7th CONS Commander Maj. Kendric Phillips. Service officials honored the squadron in a ceremony on Dec. 17 during the Fiscal 2012 Air Force Small Business Meeting at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. (Dyess report by 2nd Lt. Nicole Ferrara)
The Air Force’s nascent KC-Z program, aimed at developing a next-generation family of systems for aerial refueling, will look to launch its analysis-of-alternatives study in 2024, years earlier than originally planned. Originally, the analysis of alternatives for KC-Z was set for “maybe in the 2030s,” Paul Waugh, program executive officer…