Faced with the Air Force’s force shaping plan to drop some 4,000 officers in 2006 (not to mention the 40,000 personnel cut coming for 2006-11), two lieutenants at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., already have opted to head out for the Army, which is hiring not firing. First Lt. Christopher Isbell, 28th Munitions Squadron section commander, hopes to get a job in armor, while 1st Lt. Nic Sanchez, 28th MUNS production flight commander, expects to work in ordinance, reports the Black Hills Bandit. They both say they want to make the military a career.
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.