Air Force Secretary Michael Donley began his speech at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles by reiterating that “the Air Force is accountable to our teammates” in terms of treating the remains of fallen US military personnel with the utmost of dignity and respect. He added that Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and he take “personal responsibility” for fixing what he called a system that was “broken” at the Air Force’s military mortuary at Dover AFB, Del., and resulted in the mishandling of several service members’ remains. The Air Force is changing policies at the mortuary and a new commander is in place there, said Donley. He noted that, in the days to come, a new independent panel will be reviewing the “corrective actions” that the Air Force already has taken. Donley spoke on Nov. 18.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability prevail. “Peace through strength” has...
