Orlando, February 19, 2010—Readiness remains a big challenge for Reservists, Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief, told attendees at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. Readiness in the sense of taking someone “from square zero” and maturing them from being a part timer to fully operational status, he said. “Part of that challenge comes with dollars and cents; part of that challenge comes with availability,” he explained. Part of the answer is a training program in place that takes airmen out of basic military training and tech school and, if assuming they have the availability, puts them on an extended-period tour that develops their skills to the point that they may deploy, he said. Such efforts get “them into the fight quicker,” Stenner said, noting that this initiative needs to be sustained.
Unit commanders are being told to separate service members who can’t shave their cheeks and chin for medical reasons for more than a year, according to new guidance from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
