In response to the unique family circumstances of airmen serving at RPA bases, the Air Force Services Activity is developing new child care programs for remote locations like Creech AFB, Nev. One of the new programs, RPA Care, offers 24-hour care to supplement standard childcare while parents are away on extended RPA duty. Another, called RPA 2 Care, provides targeted care when parents have required medical appointments. The new programs are the result of a series of interviews with operators from RPA bases. AFSVA personnel found that many RPA airmen had to travel up to an hour to access the Child Development Centers nearest to their installations.
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
