US European Command is undergoing a huge change. (Read our article from 2003 for background.) Large American bases reminiscent of the Cold War are being replaced with smaller regional training centers, such as ones that are being established in Romania and Bulgaria, where combat brigades will rotate on training and security cooperation missions. To help with this transformation, said EUCOM’s new deputy commander, Army Gen. William Ward, the command has created an Eastern European Task Force. The EETF comprises a small permanent staff whose function is to aid those US forces rotating through Romania and Bulgaria.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.