New Enlisted Recruiting Commander By Todd South The Air Force appointed a colonel to head enlisted recruiting, more than 18 months after combining officer and enlisted recruiting into a single organization. Col. Lacresha A. Merkle took command of Air Force...
Air Force Accessions Center
The Air Force achieved its goal of recruiting 32,750 Active-Duty enlisted Airmen for 2026 five months ahead of schedule, military officials said this week—its biggest recruiting year in more than two decades.
The Air Force’s recruiting momentum is showing no signs of slowing in 2026, and leaders are already thinking about how they might get after even bigger goals in 2027 and beyond.
The Air Force has begun a sweeping overhaul of its education and training programs with the standup of new centers that will be part of the future Airman Development Command that is scheduled to come online next year, service officials said.
The Air Force permanently stood up the new Air Force Accessions Center on Dec. 2, a move officials hope will improve coordination and consistency between the service’s various organs for bringing in new Airmen and Guardians, particularly officers.
Existing policy and work divisions mean training and education aren’t really consolidated in AETC. They will be combined, however, in the revamped ADC.
