Mission briefings for aircrews may never be the same. The Air Force now can spread across the service a new base-level command and control tool to automate aircrew mission briefings, following a two-year effort by the Global Cyberspace Integration Center at Langley AFB, Va., and the Air Force Academy’s Institute for Information Technology Applications. The duo has released the Warfighter’s Edge, or WEdge, to the field. Capt. Larry van der Oord reports that this fully network-capable system is heads above a digital program called Briefing Room Interactive used by some units, because WEdge takes minimal training and is easy to use compared to the technically challenging and non-deployable BRI. Pat McAtee, GCIC WEdge program manager, said, “WEdge automates data to deliver the most relevant information in a user-friendly manner,” and it’s “easily deployable for combat operations.”
Unit commanders are being told to separate service members who can’t shave their cheeks and chin for medical reasons for more than a year, according to new guidance from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
