Pacific Air Forces sent some 6,000 airmen to locations around the world this past year and expects to see its rate of deployments increase by about five to 10 percent next year, reports Stars and Stripes. A PACAF spokesman attributed part of the increase to in-lieu-of taskings. About half of those airmen PACAF sends on deployments go to Iraq.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
