RAF Mildenhall, U.K., will remain open and keep its American refueling and special operations missions through the 2020s, reversing the Pentagon’s original 2015 plan to consolidate bases and infrastructure across Europe. The Pentagon last week announced broad plans to downsize the troop presence in Germany, including keeping the 100th Air Refueling Wing and 352nd Special Operations Wing at Mildenhall instead of moving them to Germany's Spangdahlem Air Base in 2022. The 2015 European Infrastructure Consolidation plan was unpopular and long targeted for change, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said Aug. 5. He did not offer specifics on why it is strategically beneficial to remain in the United Kingdom instead of Germany.

Air Education and Training Command is officially moving forward with changes to its survival, evasion, resistance, and escape course, after testing out new approaches in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Air Force wants to sharply cut how long all students spend in the program, known as SERE, but especially for those least likely to need the skills it teaches. Officials have been discussing updates to SERE for more than a year. 19th Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Craig D. Wills expects the changes will free up about 46,000 training days and around $35 million each year. Fighter and bomber pilots will likely get the 19-day course, flight attendants the five-day track, and mobility crews about 12 days.

Women serving in the Air Force and Space Force may now wear pants with their mess dress uniforms, the Department of the Air Force announced Aug. 4. Previously, these service members’ only option for mess dress bottoms was a floor-length skirt. “We hear you,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright said in a USAF release. “This is a bit of good news for some of our teammates who’ve wanted this change for a while now. A small thing, but one that I hope can go a long way to helping Airmen realize that we listen, we hear, and we care.” These policy changes will be part of the next update to the Air Force instruction that deals with dress and appearance.

Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh received his third star and became the Air National Guard’s 13th director in a July 28 ceremony at the Pentagon. He succeeds Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice, who retired Aug. 1, ANG spokesperson Lt. Col. Devin T. Robinson told Air Force Magazine on Aug. 5. Loh is the former Colorado adjutant general. Less than a week later, the District of Columbia Air National Guard’s 113th Wing welcomed a new commander as well.

National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson tapped Chief Master Sgt. Tony L. Whitehead as the bureau’s next senior enlisted adviser, NGB announced Aug. 5. Whitehead, who has spent nearly 40 years in uniform, succeeds Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Kepner in the role. Whitehead most recently pulled double duty as command chief master sergeant for the Continental U.S. NORAD Region and Air Forces Northern.

Gen. David L. Goldfein ends his tenure as USAF's 21st Chief of Staff today, handing uniformed leadership of the service to Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. In "The Goldfein Years," appearing in our July/August issue, Editorial Director John A. Tirpak talks to the outgoing chief about his legacy in the job, particularly Goldfein's spearheading of Joint All-Domain Command and Control, and his efforts to ensure it continues beyond his advocacy. He also discusses pushing more authority into the hands of squadron commanders; his initial reluctance to bring on the Space Force as a separate service; efforts to get more blue-suiters into joint command positions; laboring to smooth relations with Capitol Hill, and the necessity of staking USAF requirements with "The Force We Need." Goldfein also offers how he thinks the Air Force will see permanent changes as a result of the nation's struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 23, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a virtual Nuclear Deterrence Series event featuring Scowcroft Group Principal Frank Miller. At a time when nuclear modernization programs are accelerating around the world, proposals to recapitalize the U.S. nuclear arsenal are at the forefront of debates over defense spending. Miller will share his insights into the prospects for U.S. nuclear modernization programs and the value of nuclear deterrence in today's competitive security environment. The think tank will post event video on its website and YouTube page after the live event.