The Air Force will soon release new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence and implement a radical modernization of basic military training by 2027, following a summit of military leaders.
The military’s top generals and noncommissioned officers, including Chief of Staff Kenneth S. Wilsbach, discussed these and other key issues during a “corona” conference at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio earlier this month.
The semiannual “Corona” brings together the Air Force staff and commanders of each major service, as well as their sergeants majors and other top leaders, to discuss strategy, policy, readiness and high-level planning. According to a June 26 announcement, more than 60 officials attended the most recent rally, held June 10-12.
“The three-day summit provided a decision-making platform to discuss key areas to ensure a future-ready and capable force in light of recent policy changes,” according to an Air Force news release.
AI guidance
During the summit, Wilsbach announced that the Pentagon’s Air Force Command will soon issue guidance to “institutionalize proven AI best practices that are currently being used across the enterprise.”
Specifically, the Air Force’s announcement states that a primary goal of this guidance is “to automate repetitive administrative tasks.”
Experts and aviation personnel have been eyeing such use cases for several years. Back in 2024, Air Force Maj. Michael Kanaan, then deputy military CIO for the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, told the Defense Innovation Board that AI’s biggest impact would be on so-called “back-office functions.”
By April 2026, users of the Department of Defense’s GenAI.mil platform had created more than 100,000 AI “agents” to handle automated tasks. The Air Force-led technology startup will develop its own AI agent “marketplace” to help users translate military performance documents into a language that civilians can understand for use in job applications, write reports, create lesson plans and training schedules, and perform administrative tasks such as driver’s licenses.
But as AI tools explode in popularity, Pentagon and Air Force officials are also warning of the need for clear policies and training. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant David R. Wolf said in May that the Air Force is developing a new training program to ensure all Airmen are trained to use AI in their daily tasks.
This effort is separate from other uses of AI in the military, such as using the technology to aid in target selection on the battlefield and to control the services’ future joint fighter jet fighter drones.
BMT Next
Air Force and Space Force basic military training (boot camp) is in the midst of a major reorganization. Last fall, leaders announced what they called BMT 2.0, with increased physical training and a new emphasis on operating in small teams for combat operations.
Over the next few months, more changes were rolled out. Orienteering exercises have been added, time spent on training and inspection has been reduced, and trainees are now conducting training events under the wings of C-130 aircraft.
Leaders say the changes are aimed at instilling a sense of “air mindedness,” or a shared sense of identity about what it means to be an Airman.
Officials also plan to build an “Air Base Training Range” complete with two C-130s and two F-16s, where trainees will practice basic airfield support skills such as arming and refueling aircraft, repairing bomb-damaged runways and loading wounded onto cargo planes for evacuation.
More changes are on the way. The Air Force announcement hinted that a “comprehensive BMT curriculum update will be implemented by 2027” that focuses on air orientation, Air Force core values, and military professionalism.
air force special warfare
Another issue highlighted by the coronavirus was the future of Air Force Special Warfare, the service’s “ground combat force that specializes in the application of air power in hostile, hostile and politically sensitive environments.”
Special warfare includes several different specialties, from combat rescue to tactical air control forces to special tactics. In 2019 and 2020, the Air Force merged some of them into new specialty codes, leading to speculation that the Air Force was laying the groundwork to integrate forces from different specialties.
During the recent coronavirus outbreak, leaders agreed not to do so, specifically saying they would keep TACP units and combat rescue “Guardian Angel” units separate.
“[Guardian Angel] “TACP will continue to focus on personnel recovery and continue its role in precision strike, distributed command and control, and the integration of air power and ground combat,” the announcement said.
audit
With the entire Pentagon under increasing pressure to pass a clean audit, Mr. Wilsbach has directed the Air Force’s major commanders to submit bimonthly updates on their financial reporting progress.
The Air Force, like all other military services except the Marine Corps, has yet to pass an annual audit. The auditors said the Pentagon’s financial systems are too complex to accurately track funds and “are unable to express a reliable opinion.”
