Special Air Guard Unit Gears Up: The Texas Air National Guard’s 204th Security Forces Squadron, which calls Ft. Bliss home, has been training for border security duty, reports El Paso’s KFOX TV. However, unit airmen tell KFOX that the one-of-a-kind Air Force unit is not part of President’s Bush’s “Guard to the border” plan, which restricts Guardsmen to a non-security, non-law enforcement role. The 204th is a heavy weapons squadron geared to defend air bases and attached to the rapid-deploying active duty 820th Security Forces Group. Members have deployed—sometimes with only a few hours notice—to such places as Albania, Africa, Southwest Asia, and to hurricane duty in the states.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.