A relatively new unit, the 561st Joint Tactics Squadron formally activated at Nellis AFB, Nev., in June 2007, is the first recipient of the Air Force Association’s new Gen. George C. Kenney Award for Lessons Learned. Air Combat Command provisionally stood up the unit in fall 2006 in response to a Chief of Staff request for a dedicated unit to compile and disseminate new tactics, techniques, and procedures as they are developed in the course of the war on terror. During its first year of operation, the 561st has “improved the lethality of 126 Air Expeditionary Forces units,” led 42 tactics conferences, and published more than 7,200 pages of tactical lessons learned, according to the citation accompanying the award. And, the citation continues, it also created a “most frequently used secure Web site” that serves as a 24/7 link between subject matter experts and AEF members. Among its early credits, the 561st JTS can also count significantly reducing the time it takes for AEF units to be ready to begin operations when deployed.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.