A Coming Trend: The Air Force has created its first active-duty associate squadron—the 30th Airlift Squadron at the municipal airport in Cheyenne, Wyo. This is part of USAF’s ongoing effort to re-invent the Total Force concept. The 30th AS, which falls administratively under the active 463rd Airlift Group at Little Rock AFB, Ark., will work operationally with the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing at Cheyenne, where the active and Guard airmen will share the aircraft assigned to the 153rd AW. Right now the 30th AS has only an initial staff of 10 airmen, but it should have its full complement of 74 by October.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.