Air Force leaders again expressed growing dismay at their need to reduce flying hours—by 10 percent in the 2008 budget request—during a Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley already has testified that he has asked for a review of the flying hour situation despite the fact service officials spent some 2.2 million man hours developing the budget plan. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said that the current flying hour program—about eight percent off last year’s—translates into “low risk,” however as the number edges closer to 10 percent he and Moseley feel “less comfortable.”
The Air Force on Jan. 6 released nearly a dozen photos of F-22 and F-35 fighters returning to Puerto Rico after supporting the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—the first official images of forces who participated in Operation Absolute Resolve.
