Air Forces Africa has had to cancel or delay 40 missions this year due to logistical challenges, including manpower shortages. As a result, it seeks volunteers to serve short-term deployments to fill those gaps, reports Stars and Stripes. At the start of Fiscal 2010, the command had 100 events planned for the African theater, but has had to cut those down to about 60 due to these logistical problems and personnel shortages. The Air Force is looking for airmen from a wide variety of career fields who are outside of their Air Expeditionary Force deployment windows, according to the report. (For more on AFAFRICA’s operations and challenges, see Around and Over the Horn from the Air Force Magazine archives.)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
