It took a long time for the Air Force’s nuclear culture to change after the Cold War ended and it’s going to take a long time for that culture to change once again despite the service’s “reinvigorated” focus on its nuclear enterprise, says Maj. Gen. William Chambers, the Air Staff’s new point man for deterrence matters. Chambers spoke to reporters Monday at the Pentagon, less than 30 days after assuming his new role. He said the biggest challenges to the service’s nuclear mission will be “institutionalizing” that culture change and making sure leadership positions—on the enlisted and officer side—are filled with experienced, quality airmen. “The long-term culture change will be when we have all of our nuclear manning [filled] properly and we have all of the new training in place. . . . Those things are going to take time,” he said.
The Senate passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization bill late Oct. 9 with new language restricting retirements for B-1 bombers and E-3 AWACS. Now lawmakers from the House and Senate must set about resolving the differences between their two bills, which could lead to significant changes for…
