USAF release
The Air Force recently clarified its policies that lifted some pregnancy restrictions for aircrew members. Air Force officials underscored that aircrew members may voluntarily request to fly during pregnancy and no waiver is required to fly in the second trimester with an uncomplicated pregnancy in a non-ejection seat aircraft if all flight safety criteria are met. All pregnant aircrew are authorized to apply for a waiver regardless of trimester, aircraft, or flight profile. These changes, implemented in 2019, represent data-driven policy adjustments, to include pushing some authorities down to the lowest level possible. To avoid any further confusion about the current policy, the Air Force Personnel Center emailed the policy clarifications to the entire force March 31.
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The Wall Street Journal
Army Gen. Cavoli to be nominated for European Command; Biden to tap new general to lead Special Operation forces.
The Associated Press
U.S. service members who are HIV-positive cannot be discharged or barred from becoming an officer solely because they’re infected with the virus, a federal judge in Virginia ruled. Advocates say it’s one of the strongest rulings in years for people living with HIV. The cases involved two service members that the Air Force attempted to discharge, as well as Sgt. Nick Harrison of the D.C. Army National Guard, who was denied a position in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.
American Enterprise Institute
The President’s latest defense budget request for 2023 would shrink and age America’s geriatric Air Force even further. This for a service that by automobile standards has more than a dozen fleets of aircraft that qualify for antique license plates.
SpaceNews
Instead of having a dedicated reserve force, the U.S. Space Force would have a regular Active-duty force with full-time and part-time members, according to a proposal the Department of the Air Force submitted to Congress April 1. The proposal approved by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall would establish in law “a new approach to managing reserve component forces by merging what has traditionally been called Active-duty forces and reserve forces into a new component that provides full-time and part-time service options to Guardians,” Kendall’s spokesman Lt. Col. Justin Brockhoff, said in a statement to SpaceNews.
The Associated Press
One of the key lessons learned was the value of small military teams over mass movements of personnel and facilities in a crisis like the one wrought by COVID-19.
Defense One
President Joe Biden urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “do more” to support Ukraine and slow down the import of Russian energy in a virtual meeting of the two leaders on Monday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. India’s close relationship with Russia, and reluctance to side against Moscow unequivocally in response to the Russia-Ukraine war, has become an issue of global concern this year.
Defense News
China has delivered anti-aircraft missile systems to Serbia as part of a contract the European nation signed with China that also included drones. Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters Monday the delivery was part of the two countries’ annual cooperation plan, does not target any third parties and “has nothing to do with the current situation.”
One More Thing
The New Zealand Herald
Amongst hundreds of thousands of muddy spuds, a World War II-era grenade was picked up on a conveyor belt at an Auckland potato factory earlier this week. The old Mills bomb grenade, which has since been confirmed as being a training grenade that didn't contain explosives, is believed to have been dug up during harvesting on a farm in Matamata.
