Responding to questions from House lawmakers Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz expressed some concern over the timing of the Obama Administration’s push to repeal the Pentagon’s “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy. “This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation,” he said. There is also a lack of scholarship and dearth of feedback from airmen and their families on this issue, Schwartz said. That’s why he said he supports the Pentagon’s recently launched efforts to study this issue extensively to minimize the disruption to readiness and unit cohesion should Congress grant the change. Schwartz emphasized that USAF’s standards of conduct “will continue to apply to all airmen,” if there is a repeal. (For more background, see AFPS’s Feb. 10 report and Jan. 27 report.)
F-15E fighters from the 335th Fighter Squadron of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., arrived in the Arabian Peninsula last week for a multilateral exercise hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Alongside the Strike Eagles, A-10s from the Maryland Air National Guard are also participating in this year's Desert Flag…