In
a climate of budgeting austerity and limited fiscal resources, the Air Force Reserve serves as an example of efficiency, potentially serving as a model for the force as a whole. Air Force Reservists currently maintain the same readiness, receiving the same training as active duty, at roughly a third of the cost according to Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Commander of Air Force Reserve Command and Chief of Air Force Reserve. Stenner also asserted the need for AFRC, as a major command, to exercise fuller administrative control of its units and assets which currently answer to nine other commands. He highlighted the need to “rebalance” the Air Force in light of the current “risks and needs,” addressing inefficiencies in personnel and facilities, to maintain a “robust, mobile capacity” at a lower cost.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.