Although the Air National Guard did not have to stand down any of its combat squadrons like Air Combat Command following the implementation of budget sequestration, it’s still feeling some effects, said ANG Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke in his address on Tuesday at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. “We have really backed out of a lot of the training we used to do,” such as Red Flag, said Clarke. He added, “We’re not as connected to the Total Force from a training perspective.”
The Space Force awarded three contracts for rocket launches worth up to a combined $13.68 billion on April 4—and the usual players SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have got some competition in the form of newcomer Blue Origin.