Thousands of airmen are filling in for Army troops—known as in-lieu-of taskings—in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Gen. Ronald Keys, head of Air Combat Command, says it costs him money he doesn’t have. Keys told defense reporters as a Washington breakfast meeting Thursday, “I’m spending money to train people for skills that I don’t maintain for the United States Air Force.” And, he added, a standard six-month deployment for ILO airmen turns into eight months because they must spend two months to train for the new tasks. The non-blue work represents a “huge training bill,” said Keys, but he was quick to say he doesn’t mind helping out while the Army resets its force. However, he thinks it is past time to sit down with Army leadership to sort out allocation of resources. Bottom line, says Keys, “I don’t maintain the core competency for driving convoys and driving 50-caliber gun trucks.”
Planning an Air Show Is Hard. At Andrews, It’s Even Harder
Sept. 17, 2025
Joint Base Andrews opened its flightline this month to thousands of civilians, exposing a normally restricted airbase that regularly hosts the president and foreign dignitaries to a curious public eager to see current and historic military aircraft up close and in action.
