The Air Force intends to launch a study this summer, together with RAND, to track more than 5,000 active duty families across a full deployment cycle—before, during, and after an airman’s deployment—to measure their resilience, according to two senior service manpower officials. “The information received from this study will be invaluable on how we treat and provide care for airmen and their families in the future,” Daniel Ginsberg, manpower lead in the Air Force Secretariat, and Lt. Gen. Darrell Jones, his counterpart on the Air Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee’s personnel panel last week. This study is part of the Air Force’s broader efforts to help airmen and their families deal with the stresses and demands of an airman’s extended deployments. To heighten the focus on this area, the Air Force has also established a resilience division within its headquarters, they said. (Ginsberg-Jones prepared statement)
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
