The Air Force seeks airmen to participate in the new “Afghanistan Pakistan Hands Program,” a counterinsurgency initiative established by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen to create greater continuity, focus, and persistent engagement across the battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mullen said this effort “will develop and use a cohort of experts who speak the local language, are culturally attuned, and are focused on the problem for an extended period of time.” In fact, the USAF officers and enlisted personnel chosen will be released from their core career fields and fully vested in the program for a period of three to five years. Currently, the Air Force has been tapped to fill 74 of the total 304 slots available for APH across the services. Already seven airmen have been selected and are now in language training. (Randolph report by Paige Hughes)
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.