Construction and training are progressing as the Iowa Air National Guard moves into the final year of its conversion at the Des Moines Airport. After losing its squadron of F-16 fighter jets, the unit now has three new missions: intelligence, cyber security and flying unmanned aircraft. Col. Greg Hapgood is Guard spokesman.
“We are looking at approximately $20 million in renovations for buildings. They’ve sent more than 600 airmen to schools, which is a huge number of airmen, so considering everything they’ve had to work with for this transition they’ve done exceptionally well and they are ahead of schedule.”
Hapgood says some of the new mission will achieve initial operating capability yet this year.