The vast majority of Defense Department aircraft, including all of the military’s most advanced fleets, fell short of their mission readiness goals over the past decade, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. Only three of 46 different types of aircraft that the GAO studied hit their mission-capable rate goals during most of the period studied, from fiscal 2011 to 2019. The watchdog's report comes as the Air Force tries to pivot to more holistic measures of combat readiness.

The military has narrowed its search for the future home of U.S. Space Command to six locations across the country, the Air Force said Nov. 19. Finalists include Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.; Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.; Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; Port San Antonio, Texas; and Redstone Army Airfield, Ala. The Department of the Air Force, which led the search, will choose its preferred candidate in early 2021.

The Space Force is thinking ahead to what it might need from rocket providers at the end of the decade, as it plans for the next phase of the National Security Space Launch program. The service released a request for information on Nov. 10 to open a more formal discussion between the government and launch companies of all sizes on the path forward. Military officials are considering rocket launches for everything from transporting cargo through orbit to points around the globe, to rapidly upgrading and repopulating groups of intelligence and communications satellites if attacked.

A C-130H crew landed too quickly, causing the aircraft to oscillate and then overrun the runway before crashing into a concrete barrier in June at Camp Taji, Iraq, destroying the Hercules, according to an Air Force investigation. The C-130H, tail number 94-6706, assigned to the 165th Airlift Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard and flown by a crew from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, was flying a theater airlift sortie from Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, when the mishap occurred. All 26 aircrew and passengers survived. The aircraft was a total loss valued at $35.9 million.

The Department of the Air Force has raised the military tuition assistance cap for Airmen and Space Professionals back to fiscal 2020 levels and restored funding for Air Force Credential Opportunities Online prep courses, it announced Nov. 19. These changes, which have already taken effect, mean service members can apply for up to $4,500 in departmental military tuition assistance in fiscal 2021, a $750 jump over the original fiscal 2021 limit announced on Sept. 29. Airmen and Space Professionals may also apply for up to $4,500 in departmental funds to pay for AF COOL “boot camps” over the course of their entire careers.

Greece has officially asked to buy up to 24 F-35s, and wants them so quickly it's willing to accept used airplanes, according to Pentagon officials and Greek media. Greece wants to start deliveries of the jets in 2021. The U.S. doesn't have any used F-35s to spare, but could consider such a sale to freshen the Air Force's fleet of training machines, many of which are not up to the current configuration. Greece's request comes soon after an order of both new and used French Rafales.

Iraqi forces have shown their ability to maintain security, enabling the U.S. drawdown in the country despite increased attacks from Iranian proxies and an Islamic State group focused on rebuilding its caliphate, the head of U.S. forces in the region said Nov. 19. “The progress of the Iraqi Security Forces has allowed the United States to reduce posture in Iraq,” U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said during a virtual event hosted by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. “We have closed several bases and turned them over to Iraqi control. And we’re moving forward with the President’s decision to reduce our forces in Iraq to 2,500.”

The Air Force Uniform Office is searching for 25 pregnant Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to test the service’s new Maternity Flight Duty Uniform. Once the service selects volunteers for the effort, it’ll take participants’ measurements, fit them for their flight suits, have them don them for four weeks, and then ask them to report back about how the outfits held up “during their normal duty day,” according to a Nov. 18 Air Force Life Cycle Management Center release.

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.