Air Force Space Command medics from Peterson AFB, Colo., wrapped up a 10-day exercise in Ecuador last week, during which they visited four isolated towns to treat some 7,000 Ecuadorians. In one day, Feb. 7, the 21st Space Wing medics treated 1,500 patients. (The AFSPC team expected to see about 750 per day.) They were aided by Ecuadorian military security and medical personnel as part of the US Southern Command medical readiness exercise.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
