Airmen in training at Schriever AFB, Colo., on the new Space Based Infrared Systems missile warning satellite are getting a lot of time with their instructors—the ratio is one instructor for every two students, reports journalist SSgt. Jeremy Larlee. Air Force Space Command embarked on such an intensive arrangement to ensure the trainees—systems crew chiefs, mission management, mission crew chiefs, and commanders—get every detail in an area in which “there can’t be any mistakes,” says SSgt. Narciso Bautista, a mission management instructor for the 460th Operations Group Det. 1, part of the 460th Space Wing at Buckley AFB, Colo. The first class began its SBIRS training in January.
Depot-level maintenance took longer than expected for nearly three-quarters of Air Force aircraft from fiscal 2019-2024, according to a new report, as unplanned repairs rise across the aging fleet. The report, from the Government Accountability Office, also found that the extent of the delays has been masked because officials often revise their target timelines after unplanned work occurs.