Axe the Triad? As You Wish, Mr. President

US Strategic Command would consider eliminating part of the US nuclear triad at the President’s request, but the mix of bombers, ICBMs, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles remains the best deterrent option for now, said STRATCOM Commander Gen. Robert Kehler July...

Miller Sheds Light on Costs of Keeping Air Guard Airplanes

It would cost the Air Force some $4.4 billion between Fiscal 2013 and Fiscal 2017 to operate and sustain the Air National Guard airplanes that the service would like to retire—some 150 tails—starting next fiscal year, said Lt. Gen. Christopher...

Cheering Cooperation

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley met US airmen and contractors assigned to the multinational Strategic Airlift Capability’s Heavy Airlift Wing at Pápa AB, Hungary, this week. He also met with HAW leadership. “This is a very unique and exciting program,”...

More Isn’t Always Better

Not all active duty service members, retirees, or family members think more generous and more expensive military compensation benefits are automatically the best option, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Over the course...

Flexibility Can Save DOD Money

: The Pentagon could tailor military compensation to meet service members’ preferences and save money in the process, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Between 2001 and 2011, the cost of compensating active...

Firefighting C-130s Repositioned

Six specially configured Air Force C-130s combating wildfires in Colorado and Wyoming shifted operations to Idaho and Utah to confront new flare-ups. Four Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130s from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing in Cheyenne and...

PACOM Boss Visits Australia

Adm. Samuel Locklear, US Pacific Command chief, met with senior Australian military officials in Canberra in efforts to bolster military relations between the two allies. The trip marked Locklear’s first visit to the country since taking command of PACOM in...

Meanwhile at Farnborough

Italy’s Alenia introduced a new version of the C-27J airlifter, the MC-27J gunship, at the 2012 Farnborough Air Show outside of London this week. “The MC-27J is not just a gunship, but a battlefield tested platform equipped with proven sensors,...

Panamanians Visit Missouri Guard

Members of the Panamanian military visited Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, Mo., this week where they trained with airmen of the Missouri Air Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing and toured the base. This visit was part of the...