Returning Airmen Are Healthy, For the Most Part: According to follow-up health assessments of some 12,500 airmen taken within 90 to 180 days after they return from an overseas deployment, most of them are healthy. DOD mandates an immediate health survey and a later one, called the post-deployment health reassessment survey, which personnel can complete online within about 15 minutes. Air Force officials say that about 40 percent of the 12,500 airmen have said they have a health problem—mostly minor ones.
The Air Force is spending heavily on F-22 improvements through the end of the decade, suggesting it may not retire the jet in 2030 as it previously planned. New sensors, fuel tanks, communications, and electronic warfare systems are among the upgrades that comprise the package.