At the final hearing, the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. John P. Jumper, warned the panel not to meddle with USAF’s recommendations. The package of changes, he said, “represents the last opportunity we will have for a generation to reset our forces.” Governors and state adjutants general have besieged the commission in opposition to USAF plans to close or realign ANG facilities. A chief complaint has been that the Air Force did not consult the states, leading the commission to obtain a ruling from Justice, which sided with DOD.
Multiple U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters have deployed to the strategic outpost of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to protect the myriad of assets deployed there, including strategic bombers.