Helping allies with an insurgency problem will get more attention through a beefed-up schoolhouse, Air Force Irregular Warfare requirements director Robert Day told the Daily Report Tuesday. Air Education and Training Command now teaches “building partner capacity”—teaching friendly nations how to set up, organize, and equip an air force—at Ft. Dix, N.J., and turns out about 700 graduates a year. But AETC is looking for a permanent home for the school with the aim of turning out 1,500 graduates a year. The new school will also be able to “expand and contract” depending on the demand for these skills, Day said. Besides the bread and butter of man, train, and equip, the school will involve language and cultural training as well. AETC is looking at USAF bases to house the training center.
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.