Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, who visited airmen at Balad AB, Iraq, on Dec. 9, said during a town hall meeting that he is impressed with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing’s mission statement: “Combat airpower for America, right here, right now.” He went on to say, “What I want to tell you all is years from now you’re going to get to say that you gave 30 million people the opportunity for freedom.” The airmen at Balad like those at Aviano AB, Italy, a few days earlier asked Wynne how long the “in lieu of” Army taskings would continue. Wynne repeated his explanation, asserting that airmen would continue to fill ILO taskings “at this particular time” but that it’s not an open-ended commitment.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.