The Air Force wants all commanders to know where their people are 24/7 to facilitate operations and recovery during and after disasters or emergencies. It sounds like a reasonable request in light of the confusion surrounding last year’s Hurricane Katrina, right? Air Force Materiel Command has a problem, though, because it has the highest number of civilians of any major command in the service, and civilians don’t have to let anyone know where they go on leave. AFMC’s solution: Ask for the information to be volunteered. At this point, the command is not even asking any union employees.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
