According to a news release from the 726th Air Control Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, the 726th recently sent more than 40 percent of its airmen to Southwest Asia. The remaining airmen have had to “broaden” their outlook and “learn a few more skills,” says Lt. Col. Edward Meyer, acting squadron commander. It’s working, but Meyer notes, “We can’t sustain long-duration operations.” That means the squadron must “be more deliberate” in its scheduling to prevent overtasking, he explained. And, even with so many squadron members deployed to SWA, those at home base also must support eight months of on-call Operation Noble Eagle stateside deployments. Is this typical for USAF units? Maybe not, but we suspect more rather than fewer units face this quandary over how to maintain stateside missions when significant numbers are forward deployed.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
