The Air Force plans to excise positions for judge advocate generals and personnel, logistics, and communications personnel first in its push to eliminate 40,000 personnel over the next three years. Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain, the service’s force management chief, identified the “targeted” positions in an interview for Associated Press. AP also talked with Air Force Recruiting Service head Brig. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot, who wanted to dispel any hint that cutting 40,000 means the service doesn’t need new personnel—it does, just in certain fields. We’ve already reported on many of the hot fields, like enlisted aviators and “hot areas” like linguists and special tactics.
The Pentagon could have the option to create a new combatant command devoted to unmanned and autonomous systems if a provision in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill becomes law. The legislation is one of several moves lawmakers have proposed in recent weeks to both bound and…