Civilians and airmen at the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools are taking part in a process-improvement exercise, dubbed Operation Iron Sharpener. Officials say that the entire workforce has formed teams to identify ways to improve the school’s operations and eliminate “wasteful tactics, techniques, and procedures.” Among current initiatives of Iron Sharpener, which officials expect to be a continuing process, are ways to make AFOATS an “assignment of choice” for active duty personnel, including creating ways for them to stay current in their primary career fields. AFOATS, headquartered at Maxwell AFB, Ala., comprises Officer Training School and Reserve Officer Training Corps and commissions about 80 percent of the service’s officers.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
