The Air Force has taken over weapons intelligence duties for Army and Marine Corps ground forces in Iraq. USAF has created a weapons intelligence flight within the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron at Balad AB, Iraq, to provide teams for counter-improvised explosive device collection and exploitation, performing work once done by an Army military intelligence battalion. Airmen for the new task have come from intelligence, explosive ordnance disposal, OSI, and security forces fields, and all received specialized training before deploying, according to Air Force officials.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…