Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody recently visited his former home station of Pease ANGB, N.H., to meet with Air National Guardsmen of the 157th Air Refueling Wing. Accompanied by his wife, retired CMSgt. Athena Cody, they met with Pease’s enlisted personnel and New Hampshire’s National Guard sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates to discuss sexual assault prevention, states a Jan. 7 release. During their Jan. 3-4 visit, Cody told airmen the Air Force is looking at all options as the service reduces its end strength. “What you do has purpose to our nation and is impacting people around the world. Don’t lose sight of that,” he said. Cody and his wife were stationed at Pease from 1988 to 1991.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…