Air force, guard, reserve: can't they all just get along?

• Position: From the Natonal Defense Blog

* The National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force has the tough job of figuring out how to size and organize the Air Force for a future of shrinking budgets.

The panel's final proposal was due Feb. 1. But there are no guarantees that the work of the commission will help end the bitter budget war between the Air Force and its reserve components.

During the group's final hearing this month, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told the commissioners that the next Air Force budget, for fiscal year 2015, will "rely more heavily on the Guard and Reserve." Her comments should be reassuring to lawmakers who have pushed back on...