Gen. Ronald Keys, head of Air Combat Command, is sold on “Distributed Mission Operations”—the technique of using computers and telecommunications equipment to virtually integrate widely dispersed aircrews “flying” in simulators. Yet DMO, he points out, is “a sore point with me,” mainly because people keep meddling with his plans. He moved flying hours funding into DMO because it provides such “high end” training, but the money was taken to pay for other things. “I can’t get Congress onboard to leave the money alone,” he said. Keys wants to hire the services of companies to provide the simulators, other hardware and software to run DMO exercises. “Some people think we need to own these things. I don’t want to own the damn things,” since they obsolesce so fast, he said. More up-to-the-minute technology can be had simply by contracting for the service. DMO is “the future,” Keys asserted.
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American.
