The Air Force has cut back on “non-mission critical” temporary duty assignments as part of its sequestration mitigation efforts. That could mean delays to professional military education courses, such as the NCO Academy and mission-readiness training, said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley during AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 22. “The TDY that supports all that work could delay the promotions of airmen that rely on that training and it could lead to loss of certifications for airmen in technical specialties such as firefighting and [explosive ordnance disposal] specialists,” said Donley during his symposium address.
Fresh off the first combat deployment of its new EA-37B, the Air Force is nearly doubling the planned number of new electronic attack jets and projecting more than $3 billion in spending on the program in the next five years.