The August recruiting and retention numbers just released by the Pentagon point toward a positive year for the Air Force. The active duty Air Force continues to hit 100 percent of its recruiting and retention goals, while the Air National Guard greatly exceeded its goal for August, recruiting 128 percent of its planned accessions. Air Force Reserve Command made 99 percent of its August recruiting goal. The August upsurge for the Air Guard put its year-to-date recruiting effort at 96 percent of its goal, increasing three percentage points over last month. ANG retention is still strong, currently at 110 percent of its annual goal.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…