{"id":21638,"date":"2017-09-18T21:58:58","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:37:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:37:59","slug":"4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/","title":{"rendered":"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a Sept. 6 interview with Air Force Times, Holmes said ACC needs to develop leaders who are more willing to take risks on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe got used to operating in an environment where &#8230; we would rather avoid having one bad bomb and pass up the opportunity to have 10 good ones,\u201d Holmes said in the Sept. 6 interview.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a media roundtable Monday at the Air Force Association\u2019s Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Holmes clarified that that doesn\u2019t mean the way the Air Force drops bombs on ground targets in Syria and Iraq is going to change. But the increasingly contested and congested air environment is forcing ACC pilots to change the way they operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we are seeing are things like, \u2018hey there\u2018s an Iranian [remotely-piloted aircraft] that may or may not be a threat to coalition ground forces,\u2019\u201d Holmes said. \u201cAre you going to counter that threat, or are you going to wait for somebody to tell you what to do?\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/air-force-association\/\">Click here for more from the Air Force Association\u2019s annual conference!<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holmes said he\u2019s looking for a way to build lessons on how pilots can take the initiative \u2015 and have confidence in their decisions \u2015&nbsp;into ACC\u2019s training environment to prepare for future battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pilots\u2019 decisions on whether to shoot down potentially hostile aircraft \u2015 which has the potential for serious geopolitical consequences \u2015&nbsp;are governed by rules of engagement given to pilots through the commander\u2019s directive they receive when they check in before flying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOver time, we\u2018ve gotten used to waiting and asking the question and letting somebody else interpret those rules,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be asking our guys to take more responsibility for interpreting the guidance they receive from the commander in the area and the rules they operate under. &#8230; I think we need to move a little bit. Not every case is an exception.\u201d<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"10":{"categories":["air-force-association","digital-show-dailies","digital-show-daily","newsletters"],"primary_category":"air-force-association"}}},"categories":[101,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3320],"class_list":["post-21638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G5NO5YQAI5BDHPPBYBFFBKBOGY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-18T21:58:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T20:37:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-09-18T21:58:58+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T20:37:59+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 367,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Air Force\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-09-18T21:58:58+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T20:37:59+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Air Force\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/news\\\/your-air-force\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-air-force\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own - Air Force TImes","description":"As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own","og_description":"As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2017-09-18T21:58:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T20:37:59+00:00","author":"Stephen Losey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephen Losey","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own","datePublished":"2017-09-18T21:58:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T20:37:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/"},"wordCount":367,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","News","Newsletters","Your Air Force"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/","name":"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2017-09-18T21:58:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T20:37:59+00:00","description":"As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/18\/4-star-air-force-fighter-pilots-will-have-to-make-more-engagement-decisions-on-their-own\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your Air Force","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/","ad_zone":"your-air-force"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"4-star: Air Force fighter pilots will have to make more engagement decisions on their own"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AIR-airstrikes-web.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21650,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21638\/revisions\/21650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21638"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}