After a three-year hiatus, the hard-copy version of the Air Force’s Afterburner retiree newsletter is returning via a special funding grant, the service announced Tuesday. The reason is because not every retiree has computer access to view the electronic version. However, keeping the publication’s costs in check is key to the longevity of the resurrected hard copy, which last appeared in August 2006. Accordingly, those retirees and surviving spouses with computer access, especially those living abroad, are being urged to forego the hard copy in favor of continuing to access the online version at the service’s retiree Web site. “We need to do everything we can to keep the costs down,” said retired Lt. Gen. Steven Polk, co-chair of the Air Force Retiree Council. Retired CMSAF Gerald Murray, council co-chair, said the body will continue to rally for three annual hard-copy issues.
After a long period in which munitions were almost an afterthought and sacrificed to pay for other priorities, the Air Force needs to focus on them in order to have the right “package” of capabilities for future conflicts, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said June 7.