USAF’s 
active duty component met its recruiting goal in August, hitting its target of bringing in 3,043 new accessions, according to the Defense Department’s latest figures issued last week. This continues the Air Force’s strong postings for the fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Air National Guard intentionally brought in only 523 of the 576 recruits originally targeted in August so as not to exceed its end strength constraints, according to DOD. And the Air Force Reserve far exceeded its accessions target for the month, attracting 824 new recruits, 303 more than its goal. Overall, all four services met or exceeded their accession goals for August. While four of the six reserve components brought in less than 100 percent of their original accession goals, they purposely did this to stay within their approved end strength. (See our entry on July’s figures, for a comparison.)
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.