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Air Force’s top leaders urge unity, patience in face of changes
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Air Force Times, National

Air Force’s top leaders urge unity, patience in face of changes

By Rachel S. Cohen | The Air Force Times Four months after Air Force leaders rolled out a slew of initiatives aimed at readying troops to compete with China, they’re grappling with the most difficult part of change: turning ideas into reality. As the service hashes out the details of its future force, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvinand Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi are urging airmen to stick together and trust the process. “I have been through many chief of staff transitions and watched how the Air Force is trying to find its way forward,” Allvin said in a joint interview with Flosi in early May. “Sometimes you don’t need a new thing; sometimes you just need to follow through on the old things.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE AIR FORCE TIMES...
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DOD failed to share rules on partisan politics with service members before election season
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Air Force Times, National

DOD failed to share rules on partisan politics with service members before election season

By Nikki Wentling | The Air Force Times The Pentagon failed to properly train and guide troops about off-limits political activities ahead of the 2024 presidential election season, a federal watchdog said. The lack of communication about Pentagon policies means service members may be prone to violating rules they don’t know exist and portraying the Defense Department as politically partisan, the DOD’s Office of Inspector General argued in a report published May 28. The IG asked the Pentagon to share a memorandum immediately with all service members to outline what they can’t do during a presidential election. A Pentagon policy adopted in 2008 encourages service members to vote, serve as election officials and sign political petitions as private citizens, rather than as represen...
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D-Day anniversary shines spotlight on ‘Rosies’ who built WWII weapons
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Air Force Times, National

D-Day anniversary shines spotlight on ‘Rosies’ who built WWII weapons

By Sylvie Corbet and John Leicester, The Associated Press (via The Air Force Times) When the 5,000th B-17 bomber built after Pearl Harbor rolled out of its Boeing factory, teenage riveter Anna Mae Krier made sure it would carry a message from the women of World War II: She signed her name on it. Now 98, and in Normandy, France, for this week’s 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Krier is still proudly promoting the vital roles played by women in the June 6, 1944, invasion and throughout the war — including by making weaponry that enabled men to fight. Krier was among millions of women who rolled up their sleeves in defense-industry factories, replacing men who volunteered and were called up for combat in the Pacific, Africa and Europe. The women had thei...
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Last WWII veterans converge on Omaha Beach for D-Day and fallen friends
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Air Force Times, National

Last WWII veterans converge on Omaha Beach for D-Day and fallen friends

By John Leicester, Sylvie Corbet, and Danica Kirka, The Associated Press | Air Force Times Under their feet, the sands of Omaha Beach, and in their rheumy eyes, tears that inevitably flowed from being on the revered shoreline in Normandy, France, where so many American young men were cut down 80 years ago on D-Day. Veterans of World War II, many of them centenarians and likely returning to France for one last time, pilgrimaged Tuesday to what was the bloodiest of five Allied landing beaches on June 6, 1944. They remembered fallen friends. They relived horrors they experienced in combat. They blessed their good fortune for surviving. And they mourned those who paid the ultimate price. They also bore a message for generations behind them, who owe them so much: Don’t forget what...
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Air Force dangles big bucks, expands eligibility for retention bonuses
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Air Force Times, National

Air Force dangles big bucks, expands eligibility for retention bonuses

By Courtney Mabeus-Brown | Air Force Times Thinking about reenlisting? Eligible airmen in critical jobs can now nab bonuses of up to $180,000, up from $100,000 in previous years, for agreeing to stay in the service. Seventy-three career fields are eligible for selective retention bonuses in fiscal year 2024, up from 51 the previous year, the Air Force said in a recent release. The new list adds airmen like air traffic controllers, cyber defense superintendents and aerospace physiologists, and is retroactively effective as of Oct. 1, 2023. How much money someone can receive depends on how long they opt to stay in uniform and their experience level. Airmen are capped at earning up to $360,000 in selective retention bonuses over the course of their career, and can elect to take the m...
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VA says its trust scores among veterans are at highest level ever, 25% surge in 8 years
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Air Force Times, National

VA says its trust scores among veterans are at highest level ever, 25% surge in 8 years

By Leo Shane III | Air Force Times Trust in Veterans Affairs programs rose dramatically over the last eight years amid department efforts to improve delivery of medical and disability benefits, according to new data released by agency officials on Tuesday. Overall confidence in the department increased from just over half of users in 2016 (55%) to more than 80% this past quarter, based on figures in VA’s recurring Veteran Signals Survey. That report polled more than 38,000 veterans using a wide range of department services, including medical care, disability benefits, and home loans programs. “This is meaningful because it is the voice of the veterans that we serve from across all different ages, service areas, locations, and demographics, telling us how we are delivering for...
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