The Association of Old Crows on Wednesday condemned legislation being pushed by the Obama Administration to sell off up to 500 megahertz of electromagnetic spectrum for commercial wireless purposes over the next 10 years. The electronic warfare advocacy organization is concerned about the impact these handovers would have on the US military, which relies heavily on the spectrum. “[I]t is careless and short-sighted to hastily auction any military spectrum until such measures are taken to ensure that spectrum relocation does not significantly and disproportionately affect the joint warfighters who rely on the EMS to train and fight,” wrote AOC President Christopher Glaze in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission. Indeed, AOC argues that two bills now before Congress—the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act and the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act—”will negatively affect the military services.” (AOC release)
When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still permit extra days off. Here’s how Air Force major commands are taking that guidance.