Officials activated the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, elevating the unit from a detachment to a full-up squadron, in a ceremony at Cannon AFB, N.M. The unit, activated on April 24, is comprised of pararescue personnel, combat controllers, tactical air controllers, and combat weather teams, which will now train and deploy with assets of Cannon’s 27th Special Operations Wing, according to a base release. “This squadron’s mission is to build indomitable, professional special operators and get them face to face with our nation’s enemies. God willing, the 26th STS will accomplish this mission at any cost,” said Maj. Michael Jensen, the squadron’s commander, at the standup. The unit was formerly Detachment 1 of the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (Cannon report by SrA. Eboni Reece)
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
