For the first time, a group of non-rated officers graduated last month from the tactical air control party schoolhouse at Hurlburt Field, Fla., and will now serve as air liaison officers. These five officers completed the basic tactical air command and control apprentice course on April 27, finishing 13 months of overall training, much of which was conducted alongside enlisted TACP airmen. “This course was huge and beneficial for us because we were able to go through side by side with the airmen that we will be leading,” said 1st Lt. Brian Leen, one of the new non-rated ALOs. The schoolhouse is scheduled to graduate 36 non-rated ALOs in 2011, and 48 annually after that. The Air Force last year opened up the ALO field to non-rated officers after a group of Air Guardsmen validated the concept. (Hurlburt report by SrA. Ryan Whitney)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
