Pacific Air Forces has a great deal of capability spread across its area of responsibility, but innovations from airmen at the squadron level are making the difference in how US Pacific Command and the Defense Department posture in the region, said PACAF Commander Gen. Hawk Carlisle, on Thursday. Speaking at AFA’s Pacific Air & Space Symposium in Los Angeles, Carlisle highlighted TSgt. Matthew Woodward, a B-52 maintainer deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam. Woodward studied the history of logistical support for the B-52s involved in the continual bomber presence on Guam, said Carlisle. Woodward then came up with a streamlined deployment package to support those B-52 rotations from Barksdale AFB, La., and Minot AFB, N.D. That package, which previously required four C-17s to transport to Guam, now only requires one C-17, said Carlisle.
Questioned by lawmakers on the state of the Air Force's maintenance depots, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James C. "Jim" Slife said April 30 that the service is investing in IT and data infrastructure to better sustain new software-intensive platforms—while acknowledging that there is still work to be done to…