2024 USAF & USSF Almanac: Leaders

The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recent direction that the military services return to a more old-school approach to basic training—with instructors "tossing bunks" and "putting their hands on recruits”—will likely require the Air Force to rewrite policies for military training instructors it has modified over time to cut down on such…

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David A. Flosi is retiring following the unexpected death of his wife Katy last month, he announced in an email to the force Oct. 13.

Air Force Chief of Staff nominee Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said he'll give special attention to coordinating with the Navy on buys of new weapons.


The first flight of the Air Force’s YFQ-44 collaborative combat aircraft, which is being developed by Anduril Industries, will likely be delayed because of the ongoing government shutdown, the company’s founder said.

The Senate passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization bill late Oct. 9 with new language restricting retirements for B-1 bombers and E-3 AWACS. Now lawmakers from the House and Senate must set about resolving the differences between their two bills, which could lead to significant changes for…

Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, nominee to be the next Air Force Chief of Staff, voiced support for reducing the number of PCS moves Airmen and their families have to make, arguing it could improve retention. 

Strikes at Boeing will delay deliveries of the F-15EX, Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said before his Oct. 9 confirmation hearing. He also referred several times to the jet carrying hypersonic missiles and "very long range" weapons, indicating a rising mission for the jet.

Air Force pilots are not flying enough, and the service must fix what has become a chronic issue and the myriad of factors that contribute to it, particularly a lack of spare parts, the nominee to become the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force told senators during his…