During a Sept. 14 panel discussion about USAF’s aging systems, Gen. Donald Hoffman, head of Air Force Materiel Command, which has just taken over nuclear system sustainment after the service’s recent round of reforms, said he has “considerably less” confidence in sustaining the Minuteman III force beyond its projected 2020 date to meet the new 2030 date Congress now wants to see. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Hoffman said that aside from platform modernization and infrastructure issues, he remains concerned about the viability of the “bang for the buck”—the warheads built, sustained, and maintained through a partnership between the DOD and DOE. Just like a host of industrial base issues now being confronted across DOD, the institutional knowledge, human capital, and infrastructure required to continue to support a safe and reliable nuclear weapons complex is a matter for concern, said Hoffman.
Now Enlisted Airmen Can Stay in Uniform Longer
Dec. 8, 2023
The Air Force is extending the amount of time Airmen can spend at most enlisted ranks by two years, as the service looks to combat sluggish recruiting and balance its force structure. The High Year of Tenure (HYT) program sets limits on how long service members can spend in each grade…