The Air Force has sent its first class of intelligence analysts through a new formal training unit course at the US Air Force Expeditionary Center at Ft. Dix, N.J., where they engaged not in analyzing air threats but those on the ground that affect ground combat operations and ground force protection. The 18-day course covers integrated base defense, proper employment of intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance assets, asymmetric threats, and how to apply operating environment intelligence to a real-world area of operations. “Airmen are regularly filling roles in Iraq and Afghanistan that traditionally would have been performed by the Army and Marine [Corps],” explained 1st Lt. Eric Snelgrove, Air Force Force Protection FTU Course director for the 421st Combat Training Squadron at the center. He continued, “Just as these airmen received specialized pre-deployment training to execute their new responsibilities, intelligence airmen also require specialized training to ensure that all airmen are receiving the best intelligence support available.” The Air Force now requires this new course for all intel analysts slated to deploy. (USAFEC report by SSgt. Nathan Bevier)
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.