The Chief of the Air Force Reserve, Lt. Gen. John Bradley, told lawmakers at a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing that the reserve components do not have the force management tools in place to offset end strength reductions predicated by BRAC 2005 decisions. “In the ’90s when we went through base closure actions, we had some tools—Reserve Transition Assistance Programs—that helped us with people who had served us well and faithfully but just couldn’t move several thousands of miles, or hundreds of miles, to a new unit,” explained Bradley. He added, “We’ll try to accommodate them … but some people just can’t continue.”
When Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Air Force Gen. Dan Caine described the 150 aircraft used in Operation Absolute Resolve, the mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, he referenced many by name, including the F-35 and F-22 fighters and B-1 bomber. Not specified, however, were “remotely piloted drones,” among them a secretive aircraft spotted and photographed returning to Puerto…

