Gen. Howie Chandler, commander of Pacific Air Forces, says the environmental impact assessment covering the use of Kona International Airport on the island of Hawaii for C-17 assault-landing training is now complete. PACAF is interested in gaining use of the airport to have a practice “short austere airfield” so that its C-17s can practice closer to home rather than having to fly to the US mainland, he said during a speech at the 2008 Hawaii Military Partnership Conference Jan. 3 in Honolulu. The Kona proposal would cost about $28 million, but free PACAF from the costs of sending the aircraft to CONUS and then have to deal with the constraints of range availability there, he said. PACAF operates two eight-ship squadrons of C-17s: one at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and one at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. Chandler replaced now-retired Gen. Paul Hester who relinquished command of PACAF last November.
Watchdog Says Military Can Make Cyber Ops More Efficient
Sept. 17, 2025
The Government Accountability Office called for paring down the military's sprawling cyber enterprise in a recent report, amid renewed discussion about standing up a separate cyber force.
