Facing tough times, air force unveils blueprint for change.

• Position: Form the National Defense Blog

Air Force leaders warn that difficult times lie ahead for the U.S. Air Force. Steep force reductions loom, there will be continuing budget battles with Congress, and troubled weapon acquisition programs are not out of the woods. With crises flaring up around the world, the Air Force is still struggling to restore war-fighting units to full combat readiness.

To deal with these challenges, the Air Force has to prepare for sweeping organizational and cultural change, warns a new document released July 30. "America's Air Force: A Call to the Future," suggests that the service's hidebound ways have become an impediment at a time when the force must adapt to new fiscal realities and keep up with rapidly moving technology.

"This call to the future is a roadmap to help guide our long-term planning efforts, and help us make smart money and policy choices," said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh praised airmen for being "adaptive and resilient" but lamented that they are now going through a "tough time" as a result of budget cuts and doubts about whether they will have jobs in the future.

The Air Force's $137 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2015 is $20 billion smaller than it was three years ago.

"We are asking some of these men and women to...