This year’s Vigilant Shield is planned for Oct. 15-20, according to a release from US Northern Command. Like the 2007 version, it will take place in various states in cooperation with Homeland Security. It will also involve several partner nations, including Australia, Canada, and Britain, and will include Guam. The exercises are intended to test response abilities against a variety of potential threats.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.


