In a first for the Air National Guard, NORAD and US Northern Command have installed ANG CMSgt. W. Allen Usry as their new senior enlisted advisor, replacing Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood, who plans to retire. Usry has been serving as command chief at Continental US NORAD Region-1st Air Force/Air Forces Northern, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, NORAD/NORTHCOM boss, said during a May 21 ceremony that Usry is “no stranger to the command” and naming him as the new enlisted advisor was “an easy choice.” Usry started his military service in 1982 in the Marine Corps, serving for six years before joining the Oklahoma ANG, in which he first served as a fire protection specialist and then a first sergeant. (NORTHCOM release)
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.