Maj. Gen. H.D. Polumbo Jr, commander of 9th Air Force at Shaw AFB, S.C., paid a visit to Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. earlier this month where he flew an F-16 in support of Exercise Razor Talon. Polumbo flew in the exercise Dec. 5, participating in a large force-training sortie. Razor Talon is a monthly joint force exercise, which is designed to bring together forces from several installations along the East Coast, and integrate air, land, and sea forces from all services to train in advanced scenarios. The low cost exercise has served as a premier venue for integrating and training for anti-access, area-denial scenarios, and running through concepts related to AirSea Battle.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…