Instructor pilots from the 47th Training Wing at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas prepare to take off in T-38s. The Air Force has announced an expanded Palace Chase program and active-duty service commitment waivers to help it voluntarily reduce a coronavirus-driven overmanning problem. (Airman 1st Class Anne McCready/Air Force) COVID left the Air Force overmanned. Now's your chance to get out early or go Reserve.
AFT: An MV-22 Osprey stages during a night during a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP) exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. (Sgt. Jennessa Davey/Marine Corps)
AFT: Members of the National Guard salute as they stand near the U.S. Capitol while the national anthem is sung during the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
AFT: U.S. Army and Italian Army paratroopers conduct airborne operations after exiting a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft at Juliet Drop Zone, Pordenone, Italy, Dec. 10, 2020. (Paolo Bovo/Army)
Maintenance men assigned to an army aviation brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army perform thorough inspections on a WZ-10 attack helicopter prior to a flight training exercise on January 14, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Zhang Huanpeng)
AFT: An F-35B Lightning II lands on the flight deck o the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on Jan. 9, 2020, in the Philippine Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Matthew Cavenaile/Navy)
AFT: An U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon receives fuel from a U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender during an n-air refueling mission supporting Operation Octave Quartz with armed over-watch in Africa, Jan. 9, 2020. (Staff Sgt. Taylor Harrison/Air Force)