The Air Force has begun depriving new trainees of more sleep and will soon ramp up the stress level in Basic Military Training to better prepare Airmen for the increased strain of combat operations such as Epic Fury.
Personnel
The Air Force recently conducted a virtual stress test of its command-and-control capabilities, linking Air Operations Centers in New Mexico and the United Kingdom and forcing commanders to run personnel recovery and strikes under simulated fire.
The Air Force has ruled the M18 service pistol is “safe and reliable” after inspecting more than 100,000 of the service’s 9mm pistols, according to a Sept. 2 announcement. Leaders ordered a force-wide inspection after a July 20, 2025, discharge of an M18 killed an ...
The Air Force has pulled a piece of testing equipment for its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles after discovering some appeared to be contaminated with a possible carcinogen.
Just over a year ago, in July 2025, the Air Force established a dedicated office on the Air Staff for communications/cyber functions, separate from the intelligence directorate it had long been attached to. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Phillips, Deputy Chief of Staff for Warfighter Communications ...
In June 2026, airpower experts from the U.S. Air Force, seven allied air forces, and industry convened for a three-day wargame designed to stress notional 2036 USAF combat forces in a series of concurrent crises: a Russian assault against NATO...
New Enlisted Recruiting Commander By Todd South The Air Force appointed a colonel to head enlisted recruiting, more than 18 months after combining officer and enlisted recruiting into a single organization. Col. Lacresha A. Merkle took command of Air Force...
SMSgt. Michael J. Falleroni Senior Master Sergeant Falleroni helped stand up a battlecab for USAFE’s Air Operations Center, developing real-time, top-secret intelligence for the CFACC and five general officers during Operation Midnight Hammer. His actions enabled the largest B-2 mission...
Members of the Alaska ANG’s 176th Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, rescued the pilot of a single-engine floatplane that crashed about 25 miles south of Anchorage. An HH-60W Jolly Green II with the 210th Rescue Squadron, carrying two pararescuemen...
