Air Force personnel chief Lt. Gen. Roger Brady told lawmakers that USAF recruiters have “filled every requirement” for combat control, pararescue, tactical air control party, linguists, and survival, escape, resistance, and evasion positions since 2001. Recruiters have been helped in filling these critical specialties by the initial enlistment bonuses—from $3,000 to $12,000—enacted by Congress. However, Brady added that retention in critical skills such as combat control, explosive ordnance disposal, and pararescue is falling short in the active Air Force. And, it takes time to train people for these skills. For instance, Gen. Michael Moseley, USAF Chief of Staff, told another Congressional panel that the Air Force is “behind” in training pararescue personnel because they “are so highly trained that it takes two and a half or three year to train one.”
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
