The Air Force is considering personnel shifts within Europe to support the fledgling US Africa Command. Potential moves include rerouting AFRICOM air traffic out of its current hub at Ramstein AB, Germany, through Naval Station Rota and Morón AB, Spain, NAS Sigonella in Sicily, and Lajes Field in the Portuguese Azores, Stars and Stripes reported March 25. “We can’t fit everything into Ramstein, so we have to look at other places,” Col. Keith Keck, chief of Air Mobility Command’s strategic planning division, told the newspaper. Another change on the horizon is the reactivation of 17th Air Force, the air component of AFRICOM, in September, just before the command reaches full operational capability in October.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. had hardly left the Indo-Pacific theater before China flew a joint bomber and fighter mission with U.S. partner Thailand. In nearby Indonesia, the U.S. concluded exercise Garuda Shield alongside Australia, Japan, and Singapore. At each stop, Brown held an all-call…