The Air Force on Feb. 24 announced it will consider public education support for military children and a state’s policies for accepting professional licenses as part of future basing decisions. The new policy is aimed at making sure an area is ready to accommodate transferring military families before the service plans to base a new mission or aircraft at a location. This means that if a state wants to bring in an increased Air Force presence, it needs to strive to meet the established criteria. “The communities where service members live and work impact readiness, retention, and the satisfaction of families,” Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said in a release.

The Air Force’s push to retire aging tankers to fund future capabilities will significantly impact current operations and the ability to fly current wartime missions, the head of U.S. Transportation Command wrote to lawmakers. In the command’s Unfunded Priority List sent to Congress on Feb. 20, TRANSCOM boss Army Gen. Stephen Lyons said aerial refueling is the service’s top unfunded priority, requesting an additional $110 million to buy back 23 of the tankers targeted for cuts in the Air Force's 2021 budget request.

The Defense Department has adopted a series of ethical principles intended to guide the development and use of artificial intelligence on and off the battlefield, including taking “deliberate steps to minimize unintended bias” and ensuring the ability to “deactivate” systems that aren’t behaving as expected. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center will coordinate the implementation of these principles, which are based on the recommendations of the Defense Innovation Board, across the department, according to a Feb. 24 DOD release.

The Air Force is overhauling how it selects and trains special operators, creating a single Air Force Specialty Code for prospective enlistees and streamlining the basic military training process beginning in April. The Special Warfare Operator Enlistment Vectoring program creates a single point of entry into special warfare recruiting and initial training. Under the new program, a possible combat controller, pararescuemen, tactical air control party airman, or special reconnaissance Airman will enter the Air Force in the 9T500 AFSC. "It represents a momentous change for the Air Force special warfare community," said Col. Joseph Lopez, the Air Education and Training Command headquarters special warfare division chief. "By removing constraints in the recruiting and accessions process, we are expanding the talent pool while streamlining entry into the service.”