According to the Air Force, enlisted airmen who serve in chronically short critical skills have a “greater opportunity for promotion” than airmen serving in other fields. For 2008 there are 37 specialties that are considered chronic critical skills because they are typically manned at only 85 percent of authorizations. In those 37 fields, the service has boosted promotion rates 1.2 times higher than normal, said CMSgt. Mark Long, USAF’s enlisted promotions and evaluations policy chief at the Pentagon. (Air Force report by SSgt. Julie Weckerlein)
The new F-15E and F-15EX electronic warfare suite, meant to protect the fourth-generation fighters in contested battlespace—was shown to be “operationally effective” and “suitable,” the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation said.