The future role of US Air Forces in Europe where Africa is concerned has yet to be defined since announcement of the establishment of US Africa Command, reports USAF journalist MSgt. Ron Przysucha. A transition team in Stuttgart, Germany, is working to delineate responsibilities for the new AFRICOM, which will be absorbing work overseen by US European Command, US Central Command, and US Pacific Command. USAFE airmen have been providing varied assistance—from medical to construction to airfield management—to African countries since 1970. Currently, USAFE has explosive ordinance disposal technicians working in Western Africa to help clear landmines from a civil war.
The nation needs a better-coordinated policy for dealing with unmanned aerial systems that threaten domestic bases, Air Force vice chief of staff Gen. James C. Slife told a panel of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He and Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante co-chair a panel looking at counter-UAS…