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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.
Officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., said the range is “fully mission capable” to support launches following a major May 28 mishap involving Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.