The Wyoming Air National Guard says that its first-of-its-kind active associate unit is fully deployable “months ahead of schedule.” The active duty airmen of the 30th Airlift Squadron are stationed at Cheyenne, Wyo., where they are working with the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, flying and maintaining C-130 tactical transports. The new arrangement is the flip side of a reserve associate unit, in which reservists share aircraft and work with an active unit.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…