WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Air Force detailed plans on Friday to cut the service by nearly 10,000 active, National Guard and Reserve airmen next year as part of a broad move to downsize and shift capabilities around the United States to prepare better for wars of the future.
More than half the personnel cuts, and much of the aircraft and other equipment moves, will be borne by the Air National Guard, which triggered criticism from the National Guard Association.
The Air Force said the service cannot absorb any further cuts in active duty forces because that would limit its ability to respond to multiple crises.
Overall, about 3,900 active duty, 5,100 Air Guard and 900 Air Force reserves would be cut in the next year.
Noting that senior defense leaders have said the planned $487 billion in budget cuts over the next 10 years will mean more reliance on the reserves, the Guard association's president, Retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett Jr., said this plan "reduces the Air Force's ability to quickly respond to unforeseen contingencies in the future."
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz also laid out details of how the cuts will affect units and bases all across the country, including plans to get rid of dozens of aircraft and, in many cases, shift others in to take their place.
Units of the Air Force National Guard are civilians under the command of state governors unless they are mobilized for federal duty, generally to augment active and reserve forces in wartime.
Air Force decisions: http://www.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-120203-027.pdf
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