The new “revolution in military affairs” is the recognition that information and speed of decision-making will be the keys to victory in a future conflict, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said in a March 29 panel discussion with Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville. Brown and former defense officials acknowledged that the U.S. is behind in this area, and that a catch-up investment will help deter China, which believes the U.S. is a great power in decline.
While Airmen and civilians in Air Force Materiel Command are generally aware of steps the command is taking to improve diversity and inclusion, there are still shortfalls in overall awareness of the issues and a perception that some will face reprisals if they make equal opportunity claims, according to the results of a recent survey. AFMC on March 29 released findings from its three-week Diversity and Inclusion Survey, which included 14,000 responses from Airmen and civilians, along with more than 3,500 responses to the survey’s open-ended portion, according to a command release.
The commander of a major maintenance group with the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been relieved of command for the second time in a year. Col. Chris Boring, commander of the 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group, was relieved March 3 due to “a loss of confidence in his ability to lead and command a group,” according to Hill. Boring stepped into the role in June 2020 after the group’s previous commander, Col. Randy Ackerman, also was relieved of command in May 2020.
The Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Region early March 29 tracked two Russian Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, Alaskan Command announced. The aircraft operated in international airspace, and Alaska Command did not announce if U.S. or Canadian aircraft scrambled to intercept.
Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer Defense & Security on March 29 unveiled the latest A-29 Super Tucano headed to Air Force Special Operations Command, painted in a unique livery referencing the early lineage of air special operations. The A-29 is painted in the color scheme of P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts that U.S. Army Air Forces flew during the 1944 campaigns in China, Burma, and India, according to a Sierra Nevada release. The airplane is painted dark green, with five “Air Commando” stripes, which are also used in the emblem of AFSOC’s 371st Special Operations Combat Training Squadron.
