The Air Force has formed a task force to address one of the biggest deficiencies in its space force structure—intel, said Lt. Gen. David Buck, commander of 14th Air Forces and the joint functional component command for space on Friday. Air Force’s Space Command has just 550 intelligence professionals, compared to 5,000 in Air Combat Command. A typical combat wing has 30 intel specialists, with at least two per squadron. AFSPC wings have 10, with just a “sprinkling” in squadrons, Buck said. Space intelligence has “atrophied” and it is time to “hit the gym and gain muscle mass.” Headquarters Air Force has formed a task force to get at this problem, but it will take time to get the billets approved and then to grow the expertise. However, “the good thing is we’re starting the conversation,” Buck said at an Air Force Association-Mitchell Institute event in Washington, D.C.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.