The Air Force has now made it official policy that a senior NCO must complete Senior NCO Academy coursework and must have a Community College of the Air Force degree before they can endorsed for promotion to senior or chief master sergeant. Officials say that the new, unequivocal, rule goes into effect for the 2007 chief and 2008 senior master sergeant promotion cycles. They also note that having filled these squares is not a guarantee of promotion.
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.