USAFE Plans New Training Center: US Air Forces in Europe plans in March to open the new European Transportation Training Center at Spangdahlem AB, Germany. The ETTC is the second such center in the Air Force; the first resides in the Pacific Air Forces arena at Kadena AB, Japan, on the island of Okinawa. The object of the new center is to consolidate resources and save money, say USAFE officials. The ETTC provides advanced technical training for vehicle maintenance and management career fields.
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.