The Air Force is thinking outside of the box and is considering relaxing its fitness standards for some career fields or changing its tattoo policy in an effort to broaden its recruiting pool. Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the service’s deputy chief of staff for manpower, said USAF needs to “think deliberately about how we value uniformity.” Standards across the entire force “scares a lot of people,” she said during an AFA-sponsored, Air Force event Wednesday in Arlington, Va. “Do I care what a cyber warrior weighs?” Grosso asked, adding if someone who works on cyber networks needs to focus as much on their mile and a half time. Similarly, does the Air Force need to enforce standards related to tattoos the same way now? “Do I care that someone has a flower on their arm?” Grosso said. Still, the service must make sure it doesn’t stray too far from the requirements it has had for decades. “We’re certainly going to need some people who are brawny, and we’re also going to need some people for their intellect as well,” she said.
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?