Single Airmen and Guardians on their first duty assignments to 22 locations in the Pacific and Europe will now have to pack their bags for a longer stay—beginning next month, those tours will last three years instead of two. The Department of the Air Force announced the policy change to a 36-month overseas posting for first-timers on Feb. 11. “A 24-month tour was not adequate for our new Airmen and Guardians to thrive, nor was it enough time to provide the continuity needed for the unit,” Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, said in a release.

The Department of the Air Force will conduct its own comprehensive assessment of white supremacy and other forms of extremism in its ranks, while senior leaders in the next few weeks begin to discuss the problem with Airmen and Guardians as part of a Pentagon-wide look at the issue. In question are the effects on the force—and the United States at large—of personnel who sympathize with or actively participate in local militia groups, white supremacist organizations, and other extremist factions. “There is a small subset who fall short and are eroding the respect our nation’s citizens have for its military,” Air Force and Space Force leaders wrote Feb. 11. “We have a responsibility to defend the nation for all Americans.”

Joint Base Andrews’ installation commander expressed faith in the 316th Security Forces Squadron’s ability to do its job following a Feb. 4 breach at the Maryland installation and said he will push for more time and resources to help Airmen effectively guard the base, according to a Feb. 9 memo obtained by Air Force Magazine. “We must do better, we must learn from this unacceptable incident, and we must ensure an intrusion like ... this never happens again,” wrote Col. Tyler R. Schaff, who commands both the 316th Wing and its home base.

The Department of the Air Force is launching a review of its mental health, family advocacy, and other support programs for Airmen and Guardians, as part of an ongoing struggle with suicide in the ranks and to offer better care during the coronavirus pandemic. The task force is taking the long view, opting for an open-ended, five-year strategy that the department says can give leaders the flexibility they need to tailor support programs to their troops. That strategy is now in the works, and should be done by the end of March.

The Defense Department has administered more than 800,000 coronavirus vaccines to its personnel so far, as Active-duty troops begin heading out to help the general public get vaccinated as well. The Pentagon had ordered 1,040,825 vaccine doses as of Feb. 11, with 966,280 delivered to military treatment facilities across the globe, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. Of those, 800,135 doses have made it into people's arms—including 580,442 first shots and 210,693 second shots.

In commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, Air Force Magazine is posting daily recollections from the six-week war, which expelled Iraq from occupied Kuwait.

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.