Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said it’s time to re-evaluate the profession of arms. Specifically, Dempsey wants to know “how 10 years of conflict has affected us as we conduct transitions in our current wars, face resource constraints, and get leaner as a force,” according to a Jan. 28 Pentagon release. Dempsey said the profession of arms always comes up when senior military leaders gather. Training teams have already visited US Southern Command and plan to visit other commands in the near future, states the release. The team, which includes experts in policy as well as legal and ethical issues, will spend roughly a week at each combatant command, states the release. “We put a spotlight on what it means to be a professional in a way that didn’t exist five years ago,” said Dempsey. “These initiatives that we are trying to knit together have much greater interest, and therefore much greater impact, today than they did five years ago.”
The Chinese air force is accelerating some of its fighter pilot training but likely won't fully modernize until 2030. Tradition and the tempo of graduating aviation academy classes constrains pilot production.