On a trip to MacDill AFB, Fla., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked at a Town Hall meeting to say when the Air Force would get a replacement for its Eisenhower-era aerial tankers. The “short answer,” he said, is, “I don’t know.” He termed that admission “a confession,” quipping, “Confession is good for the soul.” He went on to tell the Town Hall audience that the Pentagon had been “wrestling with this for four or five years. My personal view is that we’re getting closer … and a recommendation will be made to Congress.”
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.