The Air Force is less than 6,000 airmen short of its goal of reaching an active duty end strength of 330,000 in Fiscal 2010, based on end-of-the year figures for 2008. According to the Air Force Personnel Center, the active duty force comprised 324,633 individuals, including 13,246 pilots, as of Dec. 31. Of the total, 64,494 were officers and 260,139 were enlisted personnel. The average age of an officer was 35, and the average age for an enlisted airman was 29. USAF had a total civilian strength of 141,602 personnel at year’s end. (AFPC release)
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…