The Air Force still needs more than 300 combat squadrons, but the biggest priority is not number of squadrons but capability, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 22. He also suggested the records set by the Next Generation Air Dominance prototype likely have more to do with speed of prototyping than physical performance. The NGAD is one of many classified Air Force programs under way, and Brown said the service must do a better job of helping Congress understand those programs so it can make more informed decisions about budgets.

America’s civilian and military space agencies are walking a fine line with Russia. On one hand, NASA wants to preserve the partnership with its Russian counterpart Roscosmos that has spurred cultural and scientific exchange on the International Space Station and other joint missions since the 1970s. On the other hand, the Space Force was created to outpace Russian military activity in orbit, and it often publicly chides Moscow for what the U.S. sees as threatening behavior toward assets like satellites. The U.S. must manage that dynamic, as well as its relationship with China, as the three countries vie for orbital dominance, aim to establish a presence on the moon, and grow commerce in the space between celestial bodies.

The Air Force Reserve will need to undertake both internal and external changes in order to heed Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.'s Total Force directive to “accelerate change, or lose,” AFRC boss Lt. Gen. Richard W. Scobee said. “It's going to include reforming the organization from internally, and how we deal with our Airmen, but also externally in how we present forces to the Joint Force,” he told reporters during a media roundtable at the Air Force Association's virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

Air Force child development centers can accommodate less than one-fifth of eligible children, and top service leaders are looking at ways to address the issue, particularly as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being understood. “We have about an 18 percent capacity on base to take care of children that are within the age of going to childcare or school,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass said during a question-and-answer session as part of AFA’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference. “So, that’s a challenge right?” To get after the issue, Air Force installations and their communities need to work together to “build a network” of options to try to make up that gap, she said.

Military spouses must support each other and reach out when they need help, the spouses of top Air Force and Space Force leaders said during the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference. Military life can be stressful, with all the moving, trying to find jobs and friends in new locations, navigating TRICARE and other services, and now all the challenges that come with a global pandemic. Sharene Brown, wife of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., said what has helped her most over the years has been “connecting [with] and supporting others.”