When Air Force leaders announced late last year that they planned to make massive personnel cuts over the next few years, they included cuts to Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command in their calculations. On Tuesday, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley told defense reporters that the service is encouraging—not telling—the air reserve components to search for “some efficiencies” by finding ways “to streamline their commands,” much as the active Air Force will be doing over the next five years. Federal and state officials have criticized both the Army and the Air Force for proposing cuts to the Guard. Just last week, ANG Director Lt. Gen. Daniel James III went on record saying, essentially, cuts are not possible.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…