Air Force drawdown stems cuts in procurement, for now.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: UPFRONT

The Air Force scored a major victory on Capitol Hill last month when its prized F-22 next-generation fighter jet was spared from the budget axe.

But to secure billions of dollars for the F-22 and other big-ticket aircraft procurements, the Air Force did more than just lobby. It slashed its active-duty ranks by 40,000.

It was purely a financial decision, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley.

By choosing hardware over people, the Air Force wanted to send a strong message that it can no longer postpone the modernization of the fleet, officials said during last month's annual gathering of the Air Force Association in Washington, D.C.

At the three-day event--typically dominated by talks on the Air Force's latest and greatest weapons of war--much of the discussion turned to the "drawdown" and what it all means.

Moseley painted a dire picture of the Air Force finances. Rising fuel prices, soaring health-care and retirement costs, higher-than-expected inflation rates, and the spiraling costs of operating an aging fleet have eroded the service's buying power, he said. Moseley estimated that the Air Force's five-year budget is potentially $200 billion shy of what it needs.

A reduction of 40,000 airmen, which still leaves the Air Force with 350,000 members, was the only way to stop draining procurement programs to pay for personnel and operations costs, Moseley said. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost the Air Force about $200 million a day, although much of that money is recovered through emergency war appropriations.

"All my predecessors were forced to take money out of the investment account. So we have the oldest Air Force in the history of the service. So we are taking the 40,000 people to fund the investment account," said Moseley.

The drawdown also should be viewed in a larger context, he said. It is one piece of a broader plan to "move in an entirely different direction in terms of organizing, training and equipping."

The change in direction meant the Air Force could part with 40,000 people who primarily were in non-combat jobs. Everyone in the Air Force should be trained and ready to deploy, Moseley said. Currently, about 86 percent of the force meets that requirement. Even after the cutbacks are factored in, 14 percent of the Air Force is not combat ready, "Our challenge is to get at a more sizeable piece of the Air Force that is ready to move out," he said. "We still have to reach that 14 percent that is not ready to...