At an unnamed forward location, airmen from several different specialties come together to ensure the arrival of new airmen goes smoothly, handling everything from prepositioned C bags and chemical warfare gear to beds and airlift passenger processing. During an Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation, services airmen bedded down more than 1,400 over a five-day period when they normally would accommodate about 300, reports SrA. Clark Staehle. Over the same five days, air mobility airmen processed more than 5,000 passengers, compared to a typical 2,200.
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.