For 76 young people, enlisting in the Air Force took center stage in front of a San Francisco 49er football crowd of 70,000. It was actually the third such event for the 49ers. The first half-time enlistment ceremony took place in 2004. The 49ers entertainment director Lorie Murphy says this year’s swear-in “captivated the entire halftime show—the response was as loud as when the team scores a game-winning touchdown.”
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.