Gen. Mike Minihan assumed command of Air Mobility Command from Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, who will soon take the reins of U.S. Transportation Command, during a ceremony Oct. 5 at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Minihan, who last served as deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, pinned on his fourth star hours earlier. “I couldn’t imagine anyone more perfect to lead AMC,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who presided over the ceremony. “Warfare is changing," Brown said, and the Mobility Air Forces need Minihan's leadership to stay at the forefront: "Mini, it’s up to you and your leadership and this team to continue to accelerate change—so the only thing impossible is losing.”
Alex Wagner, the openly gay nominee to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, said in his confirmation hearing that he'll make expanding diversity in the ranks a priority if confirmed. Wagner said he's also willing to look at taking the prosecution of serious crimes out of the chain of command.
American deterrence efforts came one step closer to a critical new level when the Air Force proved a stealth fighter is capable of delivering a tactical nuclear weapon inside hostile territory, Air Combat Command confirmed Oct. 4. The F-35A is the first fifth-generation fighter to near certification as a nuclear-capable platform after completing the first full weapon system demonstration and completing the nuclear design certification process. During the demonstration, two F-35s dropped B61-12 Joint Test Assemblies (JTAs), which mimic a real-world tactical gravity nuclear weapon, at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Oct. 4 and said the following day that after two decades in Afghanistan, NATO will redirect its resources to defense of its 30 member countries. That will include new alliances with Pacific partners and efforts to defend against the “blurred line” between peace and war created by cyber threats. “We are shifting our efforts and resources from large combat operations outside the NATO territory to further strengthen our deterrence and defense at home and prepare for a world of greater state-to-state rivalry,” he said
The Air Force is bringing a new dedicated broadband communications system for first responders to its bases and installations, making it easier for police, firefighters, and paramedics to talk to each other as well as to Air Force security and operations personnel. AT&T will install FirstNet networks on 15 bases while the Air Force weighs a broader rollout. Once up and running, FirstNet will provide interoperable data and voice communications, plus streaming video, to first responders with specially equipped mobile phones or handhelds—whether they work for the Department of Defense, federal law enforcement, or state and local police, fire service, or emergency medical service agencies.
