USAF has made several recent changes to its uniform wear regulations, courtesy of the 97th Air Force Uniform Board, and among them is curtailment of the Air Force Good Conduct Medal. Service officials offered no explanation for axing the medal, which the Air Force has awarded since 1963 to enlisted airmen who show “exemplary conduct during a three-year period of active military service (or for a one-year period of service during a time of war).”
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.