The Air Force has converted its first group of non-union civilian employees to the new National Security Personnel System, which is still embroiled in a legal dispute with unions. An NSPS official said last week that the process to convert the 3,100 lucky individuals of Spiral 1.1 who work at the Air Force Audit Agency, Air Force headquarters, and Tinker AFB, Okla., “went very well.” The next group, Spiral 1.2, will be ushered into the system in October, followed by Spiral 1.3 in January 2007.
Defense experts say the drone threat represents only part of a larger, looming problem: U.S. air bases in the Pacific are increasingly vulnerable to air attacks.