Gen. Philip Breedlove, US Air Forces in Europe’s new commander, said there will be no immediate changes in the command. His priorities for USAFE, which is headquartered at Ramstein AB, Germany, fall into three main categories: mission, airmen, and families. “I truly believe the airmen are our primary weapon system. Many nations in the world have great air forces. Many nations in our world may rival us as our Air Force gets smaller, but no nation in the world has the airmen that we have,” said Breedlove in an Aug. 13 USAFE release. In order to protect that valued resource, the Air Force must first take care of airmen’s families, he said. “The family was before the Air Force, the family was during the Air Force, and the family is after the Air Force,” he said. “Family is permanent and the Air Force is temporary.” Meet family needs and the mission takes care of itself, he said. The former vice chief of staff said his previous Pentagon duties would help him in his present role. (Ramstein report by 1st Lt. Christine Guthrie)
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…