Tonight Show host Jay Leno was on hand for the recent grand opening of Air Force Reserve’s new recruiting station in Wasilla, Alaska. He then watched Maj. Gen. Frank Padilla, 10th Air Force commander, lead 13 Alaskans through the oath of enlistment. These new Reservists will be part of Air Force Reserve Command’s 477th Fighter Group that stood up in 2007 at Joint Base Elmendorf to help operate the base’s two F-22 squadrons with the active duty 3rd Wing. “I come from a town a lot smaller than this and this is really what America is all about,” said Leno. He thanked the recruits for stepping up to serve. Col. Eric Overturf, 477th FG commander, said it is nice now “to have a place to get to see and talk to and recruit people.” (Elmendorf report by Luke Waack)
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…