Air Force Reserve chief Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner on Tuesday articulated his three priorities for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account, a fund set up by Congress to enhance the relevance of gear for the reserve components. They are: precision engagement gear, in the form of additional Litening targeting pods; defensive systems, such as LAIRCM, which protects cargo airplanes against missiles; and personal protection equipment, ranging from helmets and body armor to sidearms. “You need to have the same stuff” as the active duty component to be relevant, Stenner said during his Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. He noted that targeting pods have already dealt the Air National Guard and AFR back into the game in that regard.
Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, warned that Russia would remain an enduring threat to NATO and global security, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine.