CMSAF James Cody expressed support for the families of airmen in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. In the midst of personnel drawdowns and continuous deployments, Cody said, “the past few years have been extremely trying for all members of our Air Force—Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian airmen and their families.” He said “families are often the catalyst to an airman’s decision to stay or leave the Air Force,” and that the service needs to attend to its family policies at a time when “the Air Force must increase our Active Duty end strength—up to 321,000 by the end of 2017, and up to 350,000 over the next seven years.” Cody said USAF is “committed to addressing many of the issues that came up during a recent spouse and family forum conducted by the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, including Exceptional Family Member Support, spouse employment, school, and deployment support.”
U.S. Northern Command plans to sign an agreement with its European and Pacific counterparts to enhance coordination and close security seams in the Arctic, a strategically vital region that spans all three commands. The agreement comes at an important moment in NORTHCOM's evolution, as its mission grows more complex.
