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.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 trillion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…