Although the Air National Guard did not have to stand down any of its combat squadrons like Air Combat Command following the implementation of budget sequestration, it’s still feeling some effects, said ANG Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke in his address on Tuesday at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. “We have really backed out of a lot of the training we used to do,” such as Red Flag, said Clarke. He added, “We’re not as connected to the Total Force from a training perspective.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.