The decision to freeze all cuts to the Air National Guard in Fiscal 2013 may make life more difficult for Congress in Fiscal 2014, but that’s no reason to go along with the Air Force’s proposed force structure plan, said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Senate Armed Services Committee chairman. “What [the Air Force] did was not at all thought out; there was no case made for it,” Levin told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., June 14. “It was so disproportionate to what the other services were doing.” The Air Force has proposed cutting 5,100 Air Guard positions, 900 Air Force Reservists, and 3,900 Active Duty billets next fiscal year, saying further cuts to the Active force would negatively impact readiness. Levin remained hopeful that the national commission that the SASC called for in its budget mark-up would provide recommendations on the proper active component-reserve component mix and outline a path forward.
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.