Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass took over as the 19th senior enlisted leader of the service on Aug. 14, marking a period of change and promising more diversity and inclusion in the ranks. Bass' appointment makes the Air Force the first military service to have both a woman and an Asian American in the senior enlisted role, shortly after Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. became the first Black officer to lead a branch of the Armed Forces. “This is a historic moment for you,” Bass said to Airmen of all ranks watching the ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md. “I encourage you to stay passionate, determined, purposeful, and keep running your race. And together we will continue to make meaningful and lasting history as our force charts and navigates new domains.”

Air Combat Command is preparing to consolidate its fighter, rescue, and command-and-control enterprises into a new numbered air force that will help military leaders wield those forces more effectively. This month, the Air Force will bring its Ninth and 12th Air Forces under one roof as the 15th Air Force, ACC Commander Gen. James M. “Mike” Holmes said during an Aug. 14 Air Force Association event. It’s one of Holmes’s last initiatives as he retires at the end of the month.

Lt. Gen. David W. Allvin is on deck to become the Air Force’s next vice chief of staff, the Pentagon announced Aug. 14. President Donald J. Trump nominated Allvin to succeed Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson, who has been the Air Force’s second-highest officer since July 2016. Allvin's extensive experience in joint assignments, including about six of the last 10 years, indicates the Air Force will continue to grow its offerings and influence in the Joint Force. Maj. Gen. Jim Dawkins Jr. is also nominated to take over as the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration.

If a nuclear missile passes through space on its way to hit the Earth, should the Space Force own it? That idea puzzled some policy watchers who read a section on orbital flight in the Space Force’s first Space Capstone Doctrine paper, published Aug. 10. To them, it suggests that the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are fired from underground silos and arc above the atmosphere before plummeting to a target, would fall under the space jurisdiction instead. A Space Force official said the doctrine is simply laying out what the space domain looks and acts like.

F-16s and KC-135s deployed to two bases in Poland for an aviation rotation, shortly after the U.S. and Poland agreed to increase the amount of forces in the country. F-16s from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, deployed to Łask Air Base for Aviation Detachment Rotation 20.4, while KC-135s from the Illinois Air National Guard's 126th Air Refueling Wing will be based at Powidz Air Base. Additionally, the contractor-owned, contractor-operated MQ-9s from the 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2 recently returned to Miroslawiec Air Base, Poland, from Estonia. The rotation will focus on training alongside the Polish air force, according to U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Forty-six of the 159 brick and mortar Department of Defense Education Activity institutions will begin the school year remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many of these institutions are on Army bases, that includes elementary and middle schools at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., as well as several schools on Kadena Air Base, South Korea, the Defense Department said on Aug. 13.

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.