At least one lawmaker is criticizing US Northern Command and the Air Force for not responding more quickly to the California wildfires with firefighting tankers. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) wants to “know why those C-130s were located so far from California and so far from the front lines.” The Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130s came from Colorado, Wyoming, and North Carolina. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, NORTHCOM boss, told reporters that the C-130s had responded as quickly as possible and that it was the “extraordinary” winds that were to blame, driving the wildfires “beyond all models.” However, Renuart told the Associated Press that the Air Force must move more quickly to outfit California Air National Guard C-130Js with MAFFS. Apparently, adapting the new J model to carry the US Forest Service MAFFS units is not easy, and then the service must test them and train the crews. He told AP, “Hopefully, because of what we’ve learned, we will be able to move it along more rapidly.” Rohrabacher says the service has had four years.
Air Force Changes Rules for Pregnant Aircrew—Again
April 3, 2025
The Air Force is changing its policy for pregnant aircrew, generally reverting to rules set in 2019 that barred female aviators from flying during the first trimester—or from flying in aircraft with ejection seats at all—due to potential risks to the pilot and her unborn fetus.