The top enlisted airman, CMSAF Rodney McKinley, writes in a new “Enlisted Perspective” paper that the military training instructors of his basic training days taught him lessons that “helped mold me into the airman I am today.” The paper is an entreaty to senior airmen and staff and technical sergeants to join the ranks of MTIs to help the service “meet the demands of our increasing end strength.” The service needs some 220 more MTIs to sustain its plan to push 4,000 additional young people through basic training each year over the next two years, said McKinley.
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.