Brig. Gen. Richard Devereaux, commander of the Air Force Expeditionary Center at JB McGuire, N.J., recently visited locations within US Central Command’s area of responsibility. One of the purposes of the trip was to solicit feedback on the quality of deployed airman working in joint positions. “The comment I kept getting was, ‘We love your airmen. . . . They’re bright. . . . They’re innovative,'” said Devereaux in relaying the comments he received from sister service commanders. Meeting with deployed airmen during his stops, Devereaux said the impression he got was that they felt prepared to do their jobs based on their pre-deployment training. “Most said the training was ‘spot on’ and helped them spin up more quickly to do their job, or simply helped relieve the stress associated with the uncertainty of their deployment,” he said. (JB McGuire report by SSgt. Zachary Wilson)
While the Pentagon has signaled its intent to scale technology, field new systems faster, and work more with nontraditional vendors, a new report identifies persistent manufacturing capacity, resourcing, workforce, and modernization challenges that could hinder its ability to deliver on those goals.