Airmen undergoing technical training at Sheppard AFB, Tex., are feeling a little less restricted under a new Air Force Education and Training Command plan to enable the young airmen to “experience what they’ll experience at their first duty station,” said SMSgt. Terry Neuharth, 82nd Training Wing superintendent of military training. The base has revamped its traditional four-phase program of gradual privilege escalation over a 91-day period into one that offers more freedoms—and more responsibility—after the first 36 days. According to one trainee, most of whom come directly from basic training, morale is up. A1C Aimee Zalenski, an F-16 crew chief trainee, said, “We all feel more like adults.”
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.