The New York Times
As Russian troops march relentlessly forward with fierce assaults in Ukraine’s east, Moscow is unleashing a different form of terror on civilians in towns and cities: a wave of long-range drone strikes that has little precedent in the 32-month-old war.
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Aviation Week
The U.S. military’s aeromedical evacuation (AE) personnel have become very specialized and good at what they do—sending a team of experts and equipment on board a flying hospital to take care of a small number of injured troops.
Breaking Defense
“In today’s strong economy, recruiting successfully for the all-volunteer United States Air Force means overcoming strong and persistent headwinds. The challenges aren’t hard to find. ... That reality is why we are proud that the U.S. Air Force not only met our 27,200 active duty enlisted recruiting goal for this year, opening the aperture for more high-quality recruits to join in the future, but we also achieved it ahead of schedule. This stands in stark contrast to 2023 when the Air Force missed its goal of 26,877 new recruits,” write Alex Wagner, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, and Brig. Gen. Christopher R. Amrhein, commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service.
Military.com
On the same day Donald Trump was declared the winner in the 2024 election, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a memo to all Defense Department personnel that promised an orderly transition to the new administration and that the military would “continue to stand apart from the political arena.”
Air & Space Forces Magazine
Whether it’s perfecting supply chain logistics, sorting out the intricacies of a complex wargame, or planning key operational moves in a campaign, data holds the key to better decisions for the U.S. Air Force. Learn more about how industry and the military are better using data to improve outcomes.
DefenseScoop
Five months after launching an experimental chatbot for Airmen, Guardians, civilian employees, and contractors to interact with, the Department of the Air Force is drawing some early lessons from the deployment of the generative AI technology.
Defense One
The Pentagon still needs nearly 30,000 cyber workers, but the number of open positions has gone down significantly since last year, defense officials said Nov. 7. “The civilian vacancy rate is now down to 16 percent—that is a 4.8 percent decrease from last year,” Mark Gorak, principal director for resources & analysis, the Pentagon’s office of the chief information officer, told reporters.
Defense News
Israel will acquire 25 F-15IA combat jets from U.S. manufacturer Boeing for $5.2 billion, with an option to get 25 more, the Ministry of Defense announced Nov. 7. The delivery of the planes will begin in 2031, with four to six to be supplied annually.
Task & Purpose
A colonel at a nuclear missile base whose position oversees the maintenance and accountability of nuclear weapons was relieved of command after a formal investigation, base officials told Task & Purpose.
Military Times
Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie will lead Defense Department transition efforts for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, according to sources close to the operations. In addition to the top post at VA, Wilkie also served as the Pentagon’s top personnel official during the first Trump administration.
One More Thing
Military.com
Thanksgiving comes early for U.S. military veterans every year in the form of Veterans Day discounts. We just have to be proactive enough to go out and get them. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The outpouring of free food and beverages from restaurant chains around the United States has swelled over time to include gas stations, fast-food franchises, and even grocery stores.
