Air Force 
officials announced plans to stand-up four new active duty associate fighter squadrons as a money saving measure. The new units, which will share aircraft and equipment with existing Air Force Reserve Command fighter squadrons, will be established at Barksdale AFB, La.; Homestead ARB, Fla.; NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo. “We partner active duty and Reserve airmen together and create a powerful synergy that is cost-effective and results in a force that performs both daily operations as well as strategic surges,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief. AFRC squadrons at Barksdale and Whiteman will continue A-10 operations, with the addition of 128 active duty airmen, and F-16 units at Homestead and Fort Worth will gain 168 active posts. While some AFRC personnel will be cut, units will be granted “time to adjust,” said Stenner. (Pentagon release)
The design of the launch facilities for the Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile are likely to undergo major revision, posing yet another challenge for the much-delayed and over-budget program to modernize the land-based component of America’s nuclear triad, officials said.