Air Force Gen. Lance Smith, head of US Joint Forces Command, told defense reporters in Washington yesterday that commanders, including Air Combat Command chief Gen. Ronald Keys, “understand” that airmen and sailors are needed to fill “skill shortages,” i.e. to serve in-lieu-of soldiers in the war on terror. (Keys has stated that the ILO effort is costing him money he doesn’t have.) Smith said, “In areas where they can contribute, they will likely be asked to continue to contribute,” despite news reports to the contrary. In fact, the Air Force personnel chief, Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, believes the call for ILO airmen could go up.
The top Air Force commander on on the Japanese island of Okinawa has clamped down alcohol and issued a curfew for junior enlisted Airmen and Guardians at Kadena Air Base for the next month. The order came roughly two weeks after a U.S. Marine was arrested for allegedly robbing and…