The Air Force’s latest force restructuring plan includes establishing a reserve component formal training unit at Little Rock AFB, Ark., to take over C-130H2 training from the active duty 62nd Airlift Squadron—part of a C-130 compromise USAF worked with the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command. According to an AFRC release, the switchover is to be complete by 2012, but the aircraft will be at Little Rock by fall 2011. AFRC expects to have about 100 airmen in the new FTU by the start of 2012. Ultimately, the plan calls for a mix of 383 traditional reservists and 323 full-time air reserve technicians. The shift also enables USAF to redistribute about 559 active duty slots to other locations.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
