According to the Portales (N.M.) News-Tribune, William Anderson, the new assistant Air Force secretary for installations, environment, and logistics, said this week that USAF has not identified a possible mission for Cannon AFB, N.M. He claims people “have read [a potential mission] into statements” on this “emotional issue.” New Mexico lawmakers beg to differ. They have a letter signed by Gen. Michael Moseley, USAF Chief of Staff, saying that the Air Force “has already identified one promising candidate mission.” That would seem definitive to us, but perhaps it’s not enough for Mr. Anderson who told the newspaper before embarking on a tour of Cannon, that he is seeking his “own personal gyroscope.”
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.