Aug. 25, 2021 Secretary of Defense Mandates COVID-19 Vaccinations for Service Members Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memorandum directing the secretaries of the military departments to immediately begin full vaccination of all members of the department on active duty or in the Guard or Reserve who aren't yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Aug. 24, 2021 Air Force revises wing, vice and group command screening board process This year, the Air Force implemented a revised process for the 2022 wing, vice and group command screening boards to streamline notification, align more closely with joint partners and enhance senior leader talent management. Approximately 24% of all O-6 positions are command billets and half of the
Aug. 24, 2021 Nearly 22k Personnel Out of Afghanistan in Last 24 Hours About 21,600 personnel have been evacuated from Afghanistan in the last 24 hours using U.S. C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircraft along with coalition and partner airlift, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations said.
Aug. 24, 2021 Air Force update for COVID-19 Below are current coronavirus disease 2019 statistics for Department of Air Force personnel:
Aug. 23, 2021 Fast-Paced Airport Ground Ops Keeps Evacuees Moving In the last 24 hours, more than 10,000 evacuees have been moved out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. It's an exhausting pace the U.S. military will sustain so that everyone eligible to leave the country can get out, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command said.
Aug. 23, 2021 DOD Intends to Mandate Pfizer Vaccine, Pentagon Official Says Since the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, it's very likely the vaccine will soon become mandatory for Defense Department personnel, the Pentagon press secretary said.
Aug. 21, 2021 U.S. Seeks to Open More Locations to Aid Evacuation From Kabul, General Says Besides the intermediate way station in Qatar, the U.S. has started using additional sites to include Germany, and discussions are taking place to open other areas as well, Army Maj. Gen. William "Hank" Taylor said.
Aug. 20, 2021 C-17 carrying passengers out of Afghanistan A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III safely transported 823 Afghan citizens from Hamid Karzai International Airport, Aug. 15, 2021. The initial count of 640 passengers included only adults, inadvertently leaving off 183 children seated in laps as passengers were transported from the flight line.
Aug. 20, 2021 SecAF visits PACAF, emphasizes 'one team, one fight' Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall visited Airmen and Guardians from Headquarters Pacific Air Forces and the 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Aug. 16-18.
Aug. 19, 2021 Flow of Evacuees out of Kabul Continuing Apace, Officials Say The Defense Department has the capacity and the capability to move as many people out of Afghanistan as possible, and the number of aircraft is not a limiting factor, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said.