More people are opting to stay in the Air Force than at nearly any other time in the past 20 years, choosing to stay put amid pandemic-era economic uncertainty. In the past two decades, the only time retention outpaced the current rate was after the 9/11 terror attacks, according to the Air Force. “Some of that probably reflects the economic challenges and things associated with COVID,” Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, told reporters Dec. 1. “But it also hopefully reflects a little bit of our ability to start to provide that kind of culture and environment where Airmen and families want to stay with us, and want to be part of what the mission of the United States Air Force is.”

The Department of the Air Force is working to create new career fields in areas like software development, data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, hoping to attract digital experts away from private-sector technology jobs and bring the service into the 21st century. Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for manpower, told reporters Dec. 1 that officials are considering the details of how those new jobs would work and how many people might need to fill them. “We see ... the potential for two or three more career fields that we don't have today,” he said.

The first simulators for the T-7A advanced jet trainer are taking shape at Boeing's St. Louis, Mo., facilities, the company announced Dec. 1. The devices will match the environment, as well as visual and physical cues of the actual aircraft, in almost every way, the company said. The sims will have open missions systems architecture, and software drops to ground-based trainers and aircraft will be simultaneous, Boeing said. The first T-7A unit at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, will be equipped with the devices in 2023.

The lack of training ranges and airspace in Japan are making it difficult for U.S. aircrews to maintain readiness during the pandemic, the head of U.S. forces in Japan said. U.S. and Japanese aircraft and personnel need to leave the country for high-end training, often traveling to major exercise such as a Red Flag in the United States, said Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, commander of 5th Air Force and U.S. Forces Japan, during a virtual Air Force Association event. Although there are ranges inside Japan, such as the Draughon Range near Misawa Air Base or a smaller space at Camp Fuji, those locations face encroachment issues with local populations and local officials are hesitant to allow events even if they use inert training munitions. However, Japan has shown a “genuine appetite that they want to do more with us,” and the U.S. needs “to find ways to do more with the opportunities that we have here in Japan,” Schneider said. “I believe it chips away at our deterrence value if we’re having to take the show on the road and go somewhere else to train.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center—which recently treated President Donald J. Trump after he contracted the new coronavirus disease—told Air Force Magazine it is poised to handle the surge predicted to grip the nation this holiday season. The Bethesda, Md.-based hospital’s ability to expand its inpatient and intensive care unit operations lies at the heart of this readiness, the office wrote in a Nov. 30 response to questions from the magazine.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond each selected a deserving enlisted member to directly commission through the Senior Leader Enlisted Commissioning Program. Brown selected Senior Airman Chris Chavez with Robins Air Force Base’s 12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, while Raymond selected Staff Sgt. Kevin Justice, a space control technician assigned to the 4th Space Control Squadron.