O
n Oct. 1, the Air National Guard is likely to fall short of its end strength target for the fourth consecutive year, Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, ANG chief, said yesterday. The shortfall is minor, though—about one percent. McKinley said at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington that the target is 107,000 Air Guardsmen, but the component currently has 105,892 airmen on its rolls. This is OK, he said, because the Guard will not lower its standards just to fill out a few more positions.
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
