The Veterans Affairs extended the deadline for retroactive PACT Act payouts amid online technical difficulties. A year after a bill was signed to help vets exposed to toxic substances during service, officials are urging vets to apply for payouts before the deadline. Plummeting NCO promotion rates are a ripple effect of the Air Force’s effort to grow its early career enlisted workforce. The gap between Air Force technical school classrooms and the real world is getting wider. The service aims to do something about it. NASA announced a naval aviator will lead an upcoming mission around the moon. The number of small business participating in the American defense-industrial base declined by more than 40% in the past decade. “These airmen exemplify the rescue and attack mission of the 355th Wing,” the Air Force said. Sixteen percent of nearly 34,000 eligible staff sergeants were tapped for promotion to technical sergeant. "Although this news may be discouraging for some, this revision is absolutely needed,” Air Force personnel boss Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller said. Air Force linguists scrambled to keep up through the Afghanistan withdrawal and, now, the war in Ukraine. Load More