Air Force leadership wants to cut the amount of time airmen spend on ancillary training along with the time they spend on additional duties, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Monday at ASC16. Goldfein said he believes the a?mount of time devoted to computer-based and ancillary training should be capped, with different tasks competing for chunks of that allotted time. “And everything above that is operational risk,” Goldfein said. “I will tell you, as the chief, I’m actually willing to take the operational risk that someone will figure out how to operate a fire extinguisher when they get into their first fire.” Goldfein called the plan a “second swing” of his and Secretary Deborah Lee James’ plan to allow airmen more time to focus more attention on their actual jobs. He noted he and James plan to investigate the results of the first swing—reducing additional duties—when they travel to USAF bases.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.