Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne tells airmen in a new letter that he plans to institute “refined initial and developmental education for all ranks” to take USAF’s educational foundation “to the next level.” The service has extended basic training to provide combat indoctrination and is providing cultural and language classes in some professional military education settings. Wynne says airmen must “be relentless” toward becoming “knowledge-enabled.”
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
