The war on terror continues to place stress on the Air Force, as the number of 365-day deployments increases and the need remains for airmen to fill in-lieu-of positions to support the Army, says Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, exiting USAF personnel chief. Reflecting on his nearly four years in the post as he prepares to take over US Air Forces in Europe, Brady says ILO taskings continue “to be a challenge because we did not design the force to do missions that are not traditionally airmen’s missions.” Yet these airmen must be competent and proficient in these ILO task when they deploy. Brady says USAF’s in-process force reduction by 40,000 full-time equivalent positions requires that airmen rethink how they do their jobs. “We have to change our processes [because] the reality of the losses is now starting to be felt in the field,” he said. “We have to change the way we’ve done things, and this may mean we stop doing things in some places. We have to streamline some things.” (See “A Matter of Survival Below.”) The Senate approved Brady for USAFE’s top spot last month. (USAF report by SSgt. Monique Randolph)
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.