Det. 1, 13th Air Force, was activated today during a ceremony at Yokota AB, Japan. This new unit is expected to strengthen the US-Japan security alliance; its 50-person detachment will plan, coordinate, and execute air operations in and around Japan. They’ll work with the 613th Air and Space Operations Center in Hawaii, as well as the 5th Air Force at Yokota to coordinate with their Japan Air Self Defense Force counterparts. Col. Michael MacWilliam, who has worked as the 5th Air Force director of operations and plans, is to command the detachment.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
