The Air Force asked the Air National Guard to cut “approximately 14,000” people from its 107,000 force, according to CMSgt. Richard Smith, ANG’s top enlisted man. Instead, as Guard leaders already have said, Smith told attendees at the Airlift/Tanker Association convention in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 31, that ANG decided to cut things rather than people. The monetary impact facing ANG is “close to $1.8 billion,” acknowledged Smith.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.