The strain of fighting two wars, trying to take care of airmen and their families back home, and preparing for the future has taken its toll on the Air Force. “We were doing so much that our readiness rates were actually decreasing,” said Gen. William Fraser, Air Combat Command commander. In an effort to address the problem, ACC has conducted a “readiness review,” reaching out to combatant commanders to see what capabilities they expect airmen to bring to the table. ACC officials now are in the process of trying to prioritize those mission sets and figure out which should fall under mandatory training and which skills should fall in to the “familiarization category,” Fraser said Tuesday during an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. ACC will present the results to the Air Force Secretary and Chief of Staff early next year at the Corona South leadership summit.
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…