The Air Force plans to cut some 25 percent of its Public Affairs force that produce base newspapers, slicing 200 out of 800 airmen. The remaining 600 will shift—if they haven’t already—to full court press on the World Wide Web. The result, officials believe, will be a stronger and faster connection to Air Force personnel and their families, wherever they are. CMSgt. Janice Conner, the PA career field manager, says, “With the new Web management system, we can post content to Air Force Web sites within eight minutes.” In the old paper stream, it would take PA from “three to 10 days” to get an article out, she said. Some newspapers, including the Space and Missile Times that has operated for some 50 years, already have printed their last paper copies.
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.
