New Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz described the service’s nuclear enterprise business as “all about precision” during an Aug. 22 visit with airmen at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., the home of the 341st Missile Wing. He said, too, that “perfection in this business is the standard.” Schwartz noted that as an institution the Air Force had lost focus on its nuclear mission, but he maintained that “being the steward of the nation’s most lethal weapon is a profound honor.” He admonished the missileers that in the Air Force family “no discipline or job is more important than the other. … Everyone matters. Everyone counts and everyone’s in.” As he did during an earlier visit to Hill AFB, Utah, Schwartz used a new catchphrase “Send me,” declaring, “Send me downrange or send me to a launch control facility. Send me … because that is [the Air Force] legacy.” (Malmstrom report by SrA. Eydie Sakura)
With upgrades, F-16s can serve as a numbers-builder in the combat air forces until the 2040s, and it’s not necessary to launch its successor yet, program officials said at an industry conference. “We anticipate hundreds of F-16s in active service for decades to come,” meaning into the 2040s, Col. Tim…