Hank Polk, an Air Education and Training Command communications and information planner and project manager, has signed up to deploy with Air and Space Expeditionary Force 1/2 destined for Al Udeid AB, Qatar, in May. Officials say that Polk is the first Air Force communications and information civilian to volunteer for an assignment normally filled by a military member. Polk told Air Force journalist Megan Orton, he was just being part of the Air Force team. “If we can get civil servants into some of those positions to give military members a break from deployment, why not,” Polk said.
The Space Force has officially expanded its concept for combining operations, sustainment, cyber, and intelligence functions all under one roof, dropping the “provisional” tag from units that kicked off the idea last year and transitioning two more Deltas and missions to the structure.