Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright called on Airmen to work together and treat each other with dignity in a divisive time, in his parting letter to the service. “Trust that we are all worthy individuals, who deserve respect and deserve to serve with dignity,” Wright wrote. “No matter what the challenges we face, we can always overcome them if we are united. Please don’t let those who are set on dividing us win. Don’t let them drive us apart.” Wright, who has served as the Air Force’s top enlisted leader since 2017, will hand over the job to the next Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, JoAnne S. Bass, during a ceremony Aug. 14 at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

As Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. took over as the service’s top uniformed leader, he directed his inner circle to address urgent issues with, at times, imperfect information and to provide direct, unvarnished advice to move the service forward. The guidance to the Air Staff, issued Aug. 6, provides a glimpse of the direct leadership style of the 22nd Chief of Staff as the service prepares for a high-end fight, with specific mentions of the growing threat from China and the “generational” opportunity to restructure that comes along with the creation of the Space Force. “We must make enterprise-wide and clear-eyed judgments about our strategic future as an Air Force and how we enable all Airmen to reach their full potential, quickly adapt to changes in the geopolitical environment, and succeed in a high-end fight,” Brown wrote.

The secretive Space Rapid Capabilities Office’s workload has taken shape two years after its inception, as the space research and development enterprise changes around it. The Space RCO, which speedily develops cutting-edge technologies at the request of Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, handles capabilities that go “in, from, and to space,” with less bureaucracy and more flexibility than typical research programs, Space RCO Director Michael W. Roberts said during an Aug. 13 Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event. Most of its portfolio is classified, with one unclassified ground control station project. It will not manage the X-37B spaceplane, or fall under the Space Force's Space Systems Command.

Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., continues to move forward with its effort to rebuild following last year’s historic flood, despite the coronavirus pandemic, growing costs, and hazardous work conditions. Lt. Col. Chris J. Conover, director of Offutt’s rebuilding management office, told Air Force Magazine the initial price tag was off and could rise further. The Air Force now estimates it will cost more than $1 billion to create a new Offutt, meaning they may need to ask Congress for more help. Meanwhile, makeshift workplaces at the base—which handles intelligence-collecting and nuclear command aircraft like the Rivet Joint, Open Skies, and “Doomsday” planes—are hardly ideal.

Air Force intelligence officials will keep improving the RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone until Congress directs them to ditch it, the 16th Air Force commander said Aug. 13. The RQ-4 enterprise is in limbo, as the Air Force wants to retire 24 of the aircraft in fiscal 2021, but lawmakers have not yet signed off on the plan. If the request is approved, the Global Hawk inventory would shrink from around 30 aircraft to 10. “[Airmen are] going to continue to optimize everything we’re doing with the Global Hawk for as long as the Global Hawk’s in our inventory,” 16th Air Force boss Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh said during an online Air Force Association event.

The Defense Department is giving military parents access to a subscription-based online service that they can use to find hourly child care services that make the most sense for their families, according to an Aug. 10 release. This service, which they can sign up for through Military OneSource, will let them look for care based on their family’s unique needs and preferences, locate potential providers, pore through their background checks and references, and interview them, according to Military OneSource’s website.

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.