The Air Force is training more mobility personnel on the new Joint Precision Air Drop System, which employs Global Positioning System navigation signals to deliver cargo bundles at higher altitudes and away from ground fire. An Air Mobility Command JPADS mobile training team, led by John Hayes, recently descended upon the Idaho Air National Guard’s Gowen Field near Boise, where its is training Air Guardsmen from Idaho, Kentucky, and New York. JPADS has been used successfully in both Afghanistan and Iraq combat operations.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…