Army Secretary Francis Harvey told defense reporters in Washington Thursday that the Army now employs about 5,000 airmen for “in lieu of” taskings, and the number is continuing to go down. (See above.) “As we grow the [Army] force, we’ll be able to do that,” said Harvey. He added: “We appreciate what the Air Force does, but … if you want to be in the Army you join the Army. If you want to be in the Air Force, [you] join the Air Force.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.