For the second time in a row, Air Mobility Command has canceled its biennial international readiness competition—Air Mobility Rodeo. Announcing the decision April 24, AMC commander Gen. Darren McDew said the planned competition slated to kick off this August at McChord Field, Wash., will not take place due to budget constraints and a “high current operations tempo,” according to the announcement. The last Rodeo was held at McChord in July 2011, and featured more than 150 teams and 3,000 attendees. “During these challenging times, we need to be good stewards of our very limited funds and our airmen’s time,” McDew said, adding the decision was “unfortunate” but necessary under the circumstances. He added AMC is looking to tailor future Rodeo events to ensure the command will get “the most training and international partnership building value from this event.” Rodeo was cancelled in 2013 due to sequester related budget cutbacks, and was cancelled in 2003 due to operational commitments.
A Defense Department team is on the ground in Ukraine assessing what the country needs to protect itself from air, naval, electronic, and cyber warfare threats as Russian troops gather on multiple fronts, a senior Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine, describing an emphasis on what assistance can be…