Gen. Robert Kehler, Air Force Space Command leader, last week inducted the command’s 2009 Space and Missile Pioneers during a ceremony at Peterson AFB, Colo. This year’s five inductees are Benjamin Blasingame, Roger Easton, retired Col. Vernon Hastings, Robert Naka, and retired Col. Bradford Parkinson. Blasingame and Hastings were pioneers in the development of the Air Force’s early ICBMs. Easton was co-author of the 1955 Project Vanguard scientific satellite proposal and supervised its construction. Naka was a key player in the development of missile warning and space surveillance radars as well as reconnaissance systems. And Parkinson was a leading figure in the early days of space-based positioning, navigation, and timing systems. (Peterson release)
The total number of reported sexual assaults in the Department of the Air Force ticked up about two percent in 2024 while still trailing the total from 2022, as Pentagon officials say a hiring freeze on federal government civilian employees limits their ability to fill critical sexual assault prevention and…