Many airmen are resorting to “authorized online sources” to purchase the Air Force’s new Airman Battle Uniform, reports Holly Birchfield. The service doesn’t expect all airmen to have or wear the new ABU before November 2011, but some are anxious to get them, in some cases because their current Battle Dress Uniforms are wearing out. The new ABU is wash and wear, making it a hot item around the force. Maj. Brian Schooley, program manager for Air Force Military Clothing at the Army-Air Force Exchange Service, told SSgt. Monique Randolph earlier this summer when USAF issued a precautionary note to warn airmen against buying from unauthorized sources that those sources may offer ABUs without the an “inherent non-infrared quality that makes them undetectable by night-vision equipment.”
U.S. professional military education needs to be more rigorous and data-driven, and the military services need to do a better job of actually utilizing the skills service members learn through PME, lawmakers, academics, and Pentagon officials said in a congressional hearing. Summing up the concerns, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) laid…