During a recent visit to RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James emphasized the importance of the European theater moving forward. “I have full confidence that the airmen of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa are well positioned to be forward, ready, now,” James said. “I expect the operations tempo of the Air Force to remain high for what I consider to be the foreseeable future,” she said. “Of course we are winding down combat operations in Afghanistan as we enter a new phase, but it’s a very busy rest of the world.” James said Air Force readiness “is not where I’d like it to be,” but even in spite of budget cuts and force reduction plans already in place, the Air Force is “making a big push to get those readiness levels up.” (USAF release.)
The Pentagon is readying a slew of reforms to its acquisition practices designed to speed up the military’s process for buying weapons and systems and structure its program offices to prioritize competition and commercial capabilities, according to a draft memo.
