The Air Force’s announcement that it planned to shift some 170 civilian personnel positions from four Air Force Materiel Command bases has caught by surprise folks at one of the affected bases, reports the Macon Telegraph. Mike O’Hara, the civilian personnel director at Robins AFB, Ga., told the newspaper that the Air Force has failed to follow through on commitments it made to lawmakers and to Air Force civilian employees. One thing the service promised was a steering group to determine the type of position that could be eliminated. O’Hara asserted that no such group has met.
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.