2024 USAF & USSF Almanac: Leaders

The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.

New devices meant to save money spent on gas by reducing aerodynamic drag are inching closer to fleetwide adoption for the Air Force’s 222 C-17 transport jets.

The credibility of America’s deterrent is waning, and the way to get it back is by restructuring defense leadership and raising the defense budget almost 100 percent, according to a new paper from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Gary A. Ashworth, a career Department of Defense civil servant and former Air Force officer, has been tapped by President Donald Trump to be Acting Secretary of the Air Force, the White House announced on Jan. 20.

U.S. B-1 bombers landed in Guam on Jan. 15 for a Bomber Task Force deployment, the first of the new year. Two of the bombers also conducted a trilateral flight alongside Japanese and South Korean fighters on their way to Andersen Air Force Base.

The Air Force became the latest service to roll out a new operating concept for the future when Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin unveiled the service's Force Design last fall. But the Air Force is hardly the only service with a Force Design, and a pressing question for the…

Incoming President Donald Trump announced Jan. 17 he will nominate former Space Force Lt. Col. Matt Lohmeier to be the next undersecretary of the Air Force. Lohmeier came to public prominence in 2021, when he self-published a book alleging that Marxist ideology had become widespread in the military. Then-Lt. Gen. Stephen…

Contracts for F-35 airframes in Lot 18 and 19 should be signed in the spring, but an engine deal is still not in hand and could take months longer. The delays don't seem to be driven by anticipation of how the new Trump administration will influence the program.

Experts and advocates say a new Pentagon report on pay and compensation will guide much-needed changes on housing allowances and military spouse employment.