A strategic planning council is mulling what Air Force Reserve Command needs to look like in 2025 so that it “remains viable for national defense,” said Lt. Gen. Jim Jackson, Air Force Reserve chief. The goal is to remain a “cost-effective and experienced force,” said Jackson during a panel discussion on sustaining global presence with diminishing assets at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 21. Today, after more than a decade of war, the command has definitely achieved that, he said. Looking forward, “we can’t lose it,” said Jackson. AFRC also needs to remain a strategic depth and surge capacity for the nation, he said. “Everyone of our AFRC members should be able to go into any association and we should have given them the skill set they need to be successful,” said Jackson. He added, “I don’t know what tomorrow’s expeditionary force will look like, but we are trying to figure out what AFRC needs to look like to support that force. I do know AFRC will be a constant part of that requirement to support our nation.”
B-1 Bomber Buildup at UK Base Hits Unprecedented Levels
March 12, 2026
About a dozen B-1 bombers are now at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom as a base from which to launch strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine—potentially representing more than half of the U.S. Air Force’s mission-capable Lancer fleet.