The struggle was most heated over the Air Guard’s fighter forces. Various press reports and public statements point to instances in which the BRAC panel sided with ANG and turned aside the Air Force’s plans. Examples: the Portland, Ore., ANG unit will not lose its F-15 fighters, as the Pentagon proposed, but will keep all of them and remain open; the Fort Smith, Ark., ANG unit wound up with 18 A-10 fighters, rather than none, as DOD proposed; the Great Falls, Mont., Guard unit will have 15 F-16s instead of none; the Duluth, Minn., ANG unit will keep 15 F-16s instead of none.
The Air Force has more to do to lead by example, and to create a culture where people feel comfortable discussing sexual assault and other forms of violence with their superiors, service leadership said. The death of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Soldier who disappeared from Fort Hood, Texas,…