The US military plans to cooperate with and share signals with Europe’s Galileo system, said Lt. Gen. Michael Hamel, who serves both as commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center and USAF’s space program executive officer. Hamel told Washington-based defense reporters, “We have actually entered into agreements to cooperate with the Europeans to arrive at some common signals so we can have user equipment that will be compatible with Galileo signals as well as with GPS.” He added, “We think it really is in the best interest of the world … to have as much compatible capability on orbit as we possibly can.” Still, he says the US plans to have the best system out there, continuing a sterling reputation for providing 100 percent availability since GPS began operating in the early 1990s. Hamel believes having more global timing and positioning information is better, however, he asserted, “We think GPS today and what we have on the drawing board is currently going to be the world leader,” he asserted.
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.