Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog, leader of the Air Force’s Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center, claims there is no better place to see the AEF in action than in Southwest and Central Asia. He recently paid a visit to elements of US Central Command Air Forces in the field to see the results of his outfit’s efforts to bring predictability to the deployment process. Why? He knows that “other than first-line supervisors and commanders, the AEF center has one of the greatest amounts of influence in every airman’s life.”
The Senate passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization bill late Oct. 9 with new language restricting retirements for B-1 bombers and E-3 AWACS. Now lawmakers from the House and Senate must set about resolving the differences between their two bills, which could lead to significant changes for…