Citing the federal government’s partial shutdown and fiscal constraints, Pacific Air Forces announced that it is postponing the 2013 Pacific Air Chiefs Symposium from this fall to a yet-to-be-identified date in 2014. PACAF Commander Gen. Hawk Carlisle hosts the symposium on behalf of Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh to discuss defense, security, and international issues with allies and friends throughout the region. The 2013 event would have brought together air chiefs and commanders from 17 countries across the Asia-Pacific. In addition to meetings at PACAF headquarters at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, the participants were scheduled to visit three Air Force bases in the continental United States, as well as Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they would have met with Welsh. “We will continue to focus on providing support, friendship, security, and stability to the region, even as we face challenges like this,” said Carlisle.
A second B-52H Stratofortress is now being modified with a upgraded radar for testing after the first test bomber crashed in June, and work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, officials said July 27.