Responding to massing of Iraqi troops near the Kuwait border, USAF airlifters begin transporting additional US forces to the Persian Gulf region under Operation Vigilant Warrior. During October, USAF will deploy 193 additional combat aircraft to augment the 77 already in place. Four bombers fly nonstop from bases in the US to deliver 55,000 pounds of bombs on target, on time, within audible range of Saddam’s forces. The Iraqis withdraw northward. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry later says, “The Air Force really has deterred a war.”
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…