Federal budget cuts are straining honor guard programs across the nation. Today, the U.S. Air Force says it's forced to trim military funeral honors of retirees due to the sequestration. Below is a report filed by Capt. Lindsey Hahn, a journalist with the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs.

Due to the impact sequestration has on resources, Air Force Services is adjusting requirements for military funeral honors of retirees.

Air Force policy will revert to requiring a minimum of two personnel for retiree MFH details, consistent with statute and DoD policy.

The Air Force historically went a step further by providing a seven-member detail for all retiree funerals.

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Sequestration has cut the Air Force's flying budget, but tanker aircrews are finding new ways get more training and experience out of each minute in the air.

The tactics and employment flight at Fairchild Air Force Base has teamed up with Travis Air Force Base and Joint Base Lewis-McChord to participate in quarterly Advanced Combat Operations Training (ACOT) exercises. The latest exercise occurred May 31, when a Fairchild associated unit from March Air Force Base sent two aircraft and crews that coordinated mission planning in what's called a large formation, consisting of four KC-135 Stratotankers.

These four tankers met large formations of C-17 Globemaster IIIs and KC-10 Extenders in the skies above Western United States to refuel. While this is the task that tanker crews perform every day all over the world, these rendezvous and refuelings were done without radio communication between the refuelers or the receivers.

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It was a busy morning for the heads of the U.S. armed forces. Staff Sgt. David Salanitri, a journalist with the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, files the report below.

WASHINGTON (AFNS) - The Air Force chief of staff testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee along with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and service chiefs from the Army, Navy Marine Corps and Coast Guard on pending legislation regarding sexual assaults in the military June 4.

Gen. Mark A. Welsh III re-emphasized to the committee the Air Force's commitment to combating sexual assault within its ranks and improving care for victims when it does occur.

Sexual assault "undermines the mission effectiveness of our great force," he said. "Nothing saddens me more than to know this cancer exists in our ranks."

According to Welsh, preventing sexual assault is every Airman's responsibility.

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Col. Alan Lerner, 446th Maintenance Group commander, passed the 446th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron guidon to Lt. Col. Maureen Carroll, former 446th Maintenance Squadron commander on McChord Field June 2. In the same ceremony, Lt. Col. Stephen Oliver assumed command of the 446th MXS from Carroll after serving as the 446th Maintenance Operations Flight commander.

The Air Force has officially announced that the first active-duty led KC-46A main operating base (MOB 1) will be located at McConnell AFB in Kansas.  

According to the results of the Air Force's site surveys, the selection of McConnell AFB will allow for the Special Operations Air Refueling training mission to remain close to its primary customers in the Southeast.

Fairchild AFB, located in Spokane and home to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, was chosen to be one of two alternative bases - a decision that did not sit well with Gov. Jay Inslee given that Boeing built the KC-46A aircraft.

"This is an extremely unfortunate decision by the Air Force. Fairchild Air Force Base has a strong tradition as an integral part of our national defense and is ideally located, particularly as U.S. strategy calls for directing greater attention to the Pacific theater. The Air Force's decision today does not follow that important national policy," Inslee wrote in a public statement.

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Summer is just around the corner and it won't be long before the kids get bored. Head them off at the pass with adventures and activities hosted by your local library.

Air Force libraries have launched the summer reading program, "Have Book - Will Travel!" and are planning a host of activities for children, teens and adults designed to encourage the love of reading. Program participants can also win prizes for reaching their reading goals, said Margie Buchanan, the Air Force Personnel Center libraries branch chief.

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The 62nd Airlift Wing, headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, McChord Field, has confirmed that Col. R Wyn Elder, 62nd AW commander, will relinquish command this summer to incoming Col. David J. Kumashiro. Kumashiro, who was previously the 436th Operations Support Squadron commander at Dover Air Force Base, is currently working with the Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell, which is a part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. As of press time, a date and time for Kumashiro's change of command had yet to be scheduled. 

Organizers of Alaska Air Cargo's annual "Copper Chef Cook-off" have announced the contestants in this year's chef competition.

(Record scratch sound)

OK, only one to us. Air Force Reserve Master Sgt. Robert Shulman, a 31-year Airman and chef, will represent Joint Base Lewis-McChord's 446th Airlift Wing during the chef competition at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow at Seatac Airport.

(Record scratch sound)

That's right, 6:30 a.m. It's a yearly tradition for Alaska Airlines to fly in the first Copper River Salmon of the season - Alaska's premier wild salmon - touching down before the sun comes up, then forcing the area's best chefs to cook the fish in a competitive atmosphere.

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Maj. Gen. Richard S. Haddad, deputy to the chief of staff of Air Force Reserve, testifies during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, on Capitol Hill, May 15. Active and Reserve component leaders testified to the subcommittee about the FY14 President's Budget request and projected construction projects. The proposed budget has $45.6 million to fund new Air Force Reserve projects. This includes a Joint Regional Deployment Processing Center at March Air Reserve base, Calif., a Squadron Operations Facility at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and an Entry Control Complex at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.

As you know Air Mobility Command postponed Air Mobility Rodeo 2013, which was to take place at McChord Field in this summer. Rodeo, sponsored by AMC, is the Mobility Air Force's readiness competition. The competitions are held to train and improve the abilities of U.S. and international partners' air mobility operations skills while building international relationships.

Word just came down from AMC that Rodeo 2014 might not happen either.

"Rodeo 2014 is tentatively off," said a spokesperson from the 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office who contacted AMC. "Rodeo happens every two years. It was scheduled to take place this summer at McChord Field. With the budget sequestration, Rodeo was postponed. According to AMC, it's tentatively not scheduled for the summer of 2014, although official word won't be released until sometime next week."

It looks as if Rodeo won't return to McChord Field until 2015.

This is not the first time Air Mobility Rodeo has been cancelled. The two most recent examples are Rodeo 2003, which was called off because of worldwide commitments for the war on terrorism and humanitarian efforts. In 1988, it was canceled because of budget shortfalls.