Colorado elected officials want to know what the Air Force can do to mitigate the fact that most of the state’s Army National Guard helicopters—ones used in fighting wildfires—are being deployed to Southwest Asia. (Read a Denver Post editorial and Rocky Mountain News report.) According to the News, Sen. Ken Salazar has sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne asking just how quickly Colorado could expect Air Force Reserve Command to dispatch its firefighting C-130s.
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the service must improve its readiness in his first public remarks as Air Force Chief of Staff, made during a ceremony marking his ascension to the service’s top job Nov. 18.
