{"id":20435,"date":"2018-12-06T20:01:49","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T20:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:51:55","slug":"the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/","title":{"rendered":"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The duties of the Air Force\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/paris-air-show\/2017\/06\/21\/lockheed-trump-s-buy-american-emphasis-unlikely-to-thwart-potential-f-16-production-in-india\/\" target=_blank>international affairs shop<\/a> may be changing soon, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/interviews\/2016\/02\/15\/interview-heidi-grant\/\" target=_blank>its outgoing head<\/a> believes that may not be a bad thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force is currently considering stripping out the strategy functions of its international affairs office and transferring them to the Air Staff\u2019s office for plans and requirements, also known as the A5, confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/dubai-air-show\/2017\/11\/16\/us-official-if-turkey-buys-russian-systems-they-cant-plug-into-nato-tech\/\" target=_blank>Heidi Grant, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs<\/a>, during a Dec. 4 roundtable with journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, such a change might free up the services\u2019 international affairs personnel to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2016\/09\/07\/kuwait-qatar-jet-sales-still-in-limbo\/\" target=_blank>focus on the work it does to enable foreign military sales<\/a>, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I see it as a minimal impact, and my hope is that it&#8217;s going to make [the international affairs office] stronger with that change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service could make a decision on the issue as early as January, as part of a larger organizational restructure under consideration by the service, Grant said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force is the only service that has a dedicated international affairs office \u2014 known by the moniker SAF\/IA \u2014 that is led by a senior official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After eight years leading the office, Grant will be headed to the Defense Technology Security Administration on Jan. 7, where she will take over as its director, Defense News first reported last month. Her departure from the Air Force fueled rumors that SAF\/IA could be shuttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/11\/07\/air-forces-international-affairs-head-tapped-to-lead-pentagons-technology-transfer-org\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4146059.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force\u2019s international affairs head tapped to lead Pentagon\u2019s technology transfer org<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">After an eight-year stint as undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs, Heidi Grant will move on to a new role in December.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Grant seemed confident that SAF\/IA would continue to exist, pointing to internal Air Force studies that found that the high visibility of the office enables greater cooperation with foreign militaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy position is equivalent to my colleagues \u2014 the head of operations, the head of intelligence \u2014 and so I have direct access. I work directly for the chief and the secretary,\u201d she said. \u201cSo then when I go out to do the business for the Air Force, I get direct access to the chiefs and the ministers of defense. So my colleagues are envious of the way the Air Force is structured, and there have been lots of studies that we do it right.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Grant acknowledged that when she started out at the SAF\/IA job, there wasn\u2019t a strategy that guided what the office was trying to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI felt like I was reacting as a country comes in, saying \u2018We want F-16s.\u2019 Next thing I know I\u2019m traveling there,\u201d she said. \u201cWhere is the strategy of why am I doing what I\u2019m doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/04\/no-devastating-impact-to-f-35-industrial-base-if-turkey-pushed-from-program-air-force-official-says\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4819300.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">No \u2018devastating impact\u2019 to F-35 industrial base if Turkey removed from program, says US Air Force official<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. concern over Turkey&#039;s planned purchased of a Russian anti-aircraft system should teach the Pentagon about the importance of security cooperation, the U.S. Air Force&#039;s top international affairs official says.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grant was eventually able to put together a strategy for the office built around the idea that international cooperation could help mitigate Air Force operational risk around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hope was that, by selling weapons and military technologies, the Air Force would attain more access to its allies and partners, more interoperability with their armed forces, and could depend on them to help deter and fight emerging threats, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grant seemed supportive of the proposed transition of SAF\/IA\u2019s strategic functions over to the A5, stating that \u201cit will allow us to focus more on foreign military sales\u201d\u2014 a responsibility of the office that has doubled since 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, SAF\/IA\u2019s FMS portfolio amounted to $96 billion. Now, it stands at $185 billion, Grant said. Throughout that time, the Air Force also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2016\/08\/17\/air-force-fms-changes-more-personnel-better-training\/\" target=_blank>focused on decreasing the amount of time<\/a> it takes to forge an agreement with foreign nations, cutting the time it takes to go from \u201cletter of requirement\u201d to \u201cletter of offer\u201d by 42 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grant\u2019s successor hasn\u2019t been named yet. Whoever fills the position \u2014 or the A5, should SAF\/IA\u2019s responsibilities be altered \u2014 should re-evaluate that operational risk, in light of the Air Force\u2019s position that its 312 operational squadrons are insufficient to meet the obligations of the national defense strategy, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has set a goal to get to 386 squadrons by 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rumors of the SAF\/IA shop&#8217;s demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43710,"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":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,11,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-20435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CBHR6XKBVJHSHPSU44RYWZXEGM","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/","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>The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rumors of the SAF\/IA shop&#039;s demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rumors of the SAF\/IA shop&#039;s demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-06T20:01:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:51:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Valerie Insinna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Valerie Insinna\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 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\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-12-06T20:01:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:51:55+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 658,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2729320.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\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\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2729320.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-12-06T20:01:49+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:51:55+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Rumors of the SAF\\\/IA shop's demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#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\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/\"\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\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2729320.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2729320.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/06\\\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\\\/#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\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Air Warfare\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"air\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#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\\\/defensenews\\\/?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\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/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\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office - Defense News","description":"Rumors of the SAF\/IA shop's demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office","og_description":"Rumors of the SAF\/IA shop's demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2018-12-06T20:01:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:51:55+00:00","author":"Valerie Insinna","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Valerie Insinna","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office","datePublished":"2018-12-06T20:01:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:51:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/"},"wordCount":658,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2729320.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Daily News Roundup","Global","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/","name":"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2729320.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-06T20:01:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:51:55+00:00","description":"Rumors of the SAF\/IA shop's demise may have been overstated, but changes could be coming soon.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2729320.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2729320.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/12\/06\/the-air-force-may-scale-back-the-responsibilities-of-its-international-affairs-office\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Warfare","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/","ad_zone":"air"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Air Force may scale back the responsibilities of its international affairs office"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/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\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2729320.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20435"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74446,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20435\/revisions\/74446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20435"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=20435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}