In his newest “Vector” to airmen, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz says he’s “pleased with the progress” made by the service to date in restoring its nuclear enterprise, enhancing its contributions to the joint fight, and recapturing acquisition excellence. However, he adds, “We must seize this moment and look ahead.” To that end, he lays out numerous ambitious goals for the service. Among them, he wants the Air Force to craft “a comprehensive deterrence and crisis stability vision” that builds on the recently completed nuclear posture review. Regarding modernization, he calls for reestablishing the Air Force as “a leader in electronic warfare.” and for taking directing energy systems “out of the lab.” Further, he seeks more training and operational flexibility so that airmen are adaptable to the needs of any combatant commander or joint task force. (San Antonio report by Janie Santos)
A recent seven-day exercise sent Air Force F-22s—along with other USAF aircraft—to austere, challenging environments across Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Agile Reaper, taking place for the second time after its inaugural edition last year, featured 800 Airmen and 29 aircraft across five different locations from April 10-16, training…