Trends in Defense Spending

April 1, 2000
Defense spending has fluctuated greatly over four decades, but the current budget is lower than all but eight of the preceding 40.

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Sharene Brown’s ‘Five & Thrive’ Earns Shout Out from President Biden

May 29, 2023
Sharene Brown has led an initiative, “Five and Thrive,” to tackle some of the most vexing issues facing Airmen's families during her husband's time as the Air Force's top officer. Now that Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. has been nominated as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff…

Air Force Dispatches Natural Disaster Recovery Team to Guam After Typhoon

May 26, 2023
The Air Force has dispatched an element of its Natural Disaster Recovery Team to Guam in the wake of Super Typhoon Mawar, which has caused widespread damage on the island and at Andersen Air Force Base. The team will assess the damage and put together a recovery cost estimate for…

Now Enlisted Airmen Can Swap Assignments. But Only If You Meet All Requirements

May 26, 2023
Starting June 1, enlisted Airmen will be able to swap assignments—with restrictions. The Air Force announced its new enlisted assignment swap program May 25, eight months after Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass first delighted the crowd at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference by teasing its…

Oregon Guard Base Will Get Third F-35 Schoolhouse

May 26, 2023
After a change of plans, the F-35 is headed to the Pacific Northwest. Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Ore., will be home to the Air Force’s third formal training unit for the F-35A, the service announced May 25. In 2020, the Air Force announced plans to establish its schoolhouse for the F-15EX…

The Likely Next Air Force Chief—and All the Contenders

May 26, 2023
With Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. poised to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the coming months, a new question arises: who's in line to become the 23rd Air Force Chief of Staff? The most likely choice, by all accounts, is Vice Chief of Staff…

GAO: Boeing Unlikely to Meet Revised T-7 Schedule

May 25, 2023
The Government Accountability Office says there are likely more delays ahead for the T-7A trainer, and the Air Force should build a realistic plan for testing and fielding the jet that takes into account the concurrency of design, test, and production.

Airman Dies in Kuwait in Non-Combat Incident

May 25, 2023
An Airman died May 24 while deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve the Pentagon announced May 25. Maj. Stephen Khou, 36, died in a non-combat related incident, the Department of Defense said in a statement. The incident is under investigation.