Unofficial inactivation ceremony held

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. – It's not until June 15 that the 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron stands down, but there was a ceremony Friday marking the end of the unit. The unit's C-130J aircraft will be sent to another base, but all the 345th airmen have already been given orders for reassignments. Col. David J. Condit, commander of the 403rd Operations Group, said that if they had waited until June 15 there would only have been three people left, which wouldn’t make for much of a ceremony. The 345th is an active-duty component of the 403rd Wing. (Source: Sun Herald, 04/22/14) This week, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority whip, visited Keesler with Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi. McCarthy said after his 90-minute tour that he thinks the best place to keep the C-130J aircraft is at Keesler. (Source: WLOX-TV, 04/23/14)