William Anderson, USAF’s assistant secretary for installations, and B.J. Penn, Navy installations guru, visited Guam last week to judge for themselves plans to increase military presence on the US territory. Anderson says joint basing efforts on Guam are progressing well, with the Air Force and Navy on “the right track of doing what is best for the taxpayer” but “not in any way limiting” military effectiveness. During a visit to the island last fall by Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf, deputy commander for US Pacific Command, Leaf talked with local officials about plans to move some 8,000 marines from Okinawa and to add permanently assigned aircraft to Andersen Air Force Base.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.