Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh on Monday called on airmen’s spouses to challenge Air Force leaders. “While we think we have programs that help and we’re getting the job done, … we’re probably kidding ourselves to some extent. And where you see that, you need to let us know,” he said in his opening remarks during the Spouse and Family Forum at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. “If we’re going to be successful in the future, we have got to be willing to take an honest look in the mirror,” said Welsh. He also thanked the spouses for their support during tough times and lauded their resiliency. “When we start asking airmen who have done everything we’ve asked them to do, and they’ve done it well, … to leave the Air Force voluntarily, it’s horrible,” he said regarding the service’s decision to cut some 20,000 airmen this year through the voluntary leave program due to funding constraints.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.