The Air Force “has lived up to its promise” of changing how the US military defends the peace and prevails in wars, writes Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his birthday message to USAF, which turns 63 on Saturday. “From the Berlin Airlift during some of the toughest days of the Cold War to Operation Everest outside Bagram, Afghanistan, this year, from embracing new technologies to supporting counterinsurgency efforts in two wars, the men and women of the United States Air Force represent one of the fastest and most flexible ways we exercise our national will,” he stated. “The Joint Chiefs and I salute America’s airmen and wish you Happy Birthday. Fly, fight and win!,” he concludes. (See also Air Force leadership’s birthday message to airmen.)
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, on the verge of leaving the Pentagon, said he would accelerate production of the B-21 bomber if there was money to do so. But even so, it couldn’t happen right away, he said in an interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine.