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Seymour Johnson to host newest Air Force tanker squadron

Seymour Johnson will be the site for the Air Force’s newest tanker squadron. George Olsen has more.

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson yesterday made the announcement that Seymour Johnson Air Force Base will be the main operating base for a KC-46A Pegasus Air Refueling Squadron. The KC-46A will replace the KC-135 Stratotankers fleet of the 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson. The refueling wing will transition to the new tankers, with delivery expected, pending contractor delivery schedule, the second quarter of FY2020. Twelve KC-46A’s are currently planned to be assigned to the base. A press release from Sen. Thom Tillis’ office says funds for necessary construction at Seymour Johnson to accommodate the new tankers was including in the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act. I’m George Olsen.

George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.