The Air Force in Fiscal 2008 put some 25 Air Battle Managers who serve on E-3 AWACS command and control aircraft into the field as Air Liaison Officers and plans to increase that number by 50 percent in 2009. The use of ABMs as ALOs where they serve with Army units to direct airpower from the ground, has grown from a handful when ABMs first received their aeronautical rating in 1999. Lt. Col. Craig MacLeod, deputy commander of training with the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla., believes ALO duty is “a perfect second assignment for an ABM” and called it a “growth industry.” (552nd ACW report by 1st Lt. Eric Miller)
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
