Thousands of Airmen and Guardians who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 no longer have to get the shots—and those who faced disciplinary action for failing to get vaccinated will have their records wiped clean. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III formally rescinded the Pentagon’s vaccination requirement Jan. 10, ...
Personnel
Airmen and Guardians may now take up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave under the Pentagon’s new Military Parental Leave Program (MPLP). Authorized by Congress in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, policy details were released Jan. 4, retroactive to Dec. 27, 2022. The new ...
The Department of the Air Force unveiled its new body composition program Jan. 9, more than two years after dropping the unpopular abdominal circumference measurements from fitness assessments. Now, instead of getting a point total based on waist measurements, Airmen and Guardians will divide their waist ...
A Minnesota Air National Guard flight nurse who responded to a deadly suicide bombing in the midst of the Afghanistan evacuation in August 2021 is set to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross on Jan. 7. Maj. Katie Lunning of the 133rd Airlift Wing will be the ...
In 2020, Air Force retention spiked to a 20-year high, driven largely by enlisted Airmen deciding to stay in the service amid the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, as the effects of the pandemic recede, there has been a slight decline among both ...
Four Airmen—two pilots and two loadmasters—received the Distinguished Flying Cross at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Dec. 20, among the final Mobility Airmen to be so honored for their actions during the noncombatant evacuation out of Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2021.
Service members will now be eligible for 12 weeks of paid parental leave, the Pentagon announced Jan. 4. The Department of the Air Force could not immediately provide details on how the new policy will be implemented. The sweeping changes to the military’s parental leave ...
Department of the Air Force officers are about to get credit for their academic achievements: For the first time in years, Air Force and Space Force promotion boards will be told which able to see which candidates for major and lieutenant colonel have advanced academic ...
Space Training and Readiness Command hosted its largest ever Space Flag exercise at Schriever Space Force Base, Colo., from Dec. 5 to 16, with 165 participants exercising potential strategies for a European conflict. Every Delta from Space Operations Command had a representative at Space Flag 23-1, ...