On a visit to Ali Base, Iraq, new Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne responded to airmen’s questions about changing deployment cycles, saying he is not certain that the new four-month rotation is necessarily the right answer. He noted that three months was “simply too short,” but said “maybe six months is the better and right number.” Wynne acknowledged that he might revise that answer when he’s been in office longer than six weeks. He also noted, as have USAF leaders before him, that more airmen should be in the deployment pool. Wynne said that some 30 to 40 percent have not deployed, adding, “I think airmen should spend a certain amount of time down range” to gain a “firm understanding of what’s going on and why.”
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.