â Only ticks that are attached and have finished feeding or are near the end of their meal can transmit Lyme disease. After arriving on the skin, the tick that spreads Lyme disease usually takes 24 hours before feeding begins. â Even if a tick is attached, it must have taken a blood meal to transmit Lyme disease.
All this in a period when the Air Force is the smallest and oldest since its inception in 1947. Of its roughly 5,000 aircraft, the average age is twenty-five years old. Todayâs Air Force is already struggling, and tomorrowâs is entirely at risk.
The USAF is on track to reduce the size of its force to the smallest in its history. As of FY 2014, the Air Force has 329,500 active airmen and 7,750 reservists and fields a total of 5,032 aircraft, including 40 combat coded squadrons.