Air Force Global Strike Command is on pace to have about 270 personnel in its headquarters at Barksdale AFB, La., by the end of September and be fully staffed with about 900 personnel a year from now, Maj. Gen. Donald Alston, point man for nuclear issues on the Air Staff, said Thursday during a conference call with reporters. Alston said AFGSC will get the lion’s share of the 2,500 billets being created to bolster the service’s nuclear enterprise. Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, boss of the newly activated major command, will make the detailed personnel and staffing decisions as the service’s nuclear-capable bomber and ICBM units are moved under his control and his team decides how best to manage them, said Alston.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
