The Senate introduced bipartisan legislation on Wednesday to provide 2,500 additional visas for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program. The program allows Afghan interpreters who supported the US mission in Afghanistan to apply for visas to live in the US. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “In recent years, Congress has reneged on the promise we made to protect these brave individuals by failing to authorize the appropriate number of Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan translators and interpreters,” McCain said in a statement. “It’s imperative that Congress act quickly to approve more visas,” said Shaheen. “This is a matter of life and death for interpreters and other support staff. As we speak, many of them are being hunted down by the Taliban and other terrorists.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.