The head of US Air Forces in Europe, Gen. Tom Hobbins, told airmen at Incirlik AB, Turkey, on Dec. 20, “I don’t like the fact that our people are working an average of 51 hours a week.” He was talking about the Air Force plan to cut some 40,000 personnel and encouraging all the airmen to “focus on how we can streamline our processes.”
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.