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Air
Force announces plan to prepare service for 21st Century
By
CHairforce.One
CHairforce.com Webmaster
On Dec. 2, 2004, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for Plans and
Programs announced the first six test initiatives in support of the Air Force Future Total Force plan.
According to an Air Force News report, "... for nearly two years the Air Force has been working Future Total Force initiatives that will prepare the service for the demands of the 21st Century. The Air Force will face a number of challenges in the future that will force it to reconsider the way in which it organizes, trains, and fights future adversaries."
Air Force leaders said the goal of Future Total Force is to increase combat capability by capitalizing on the strengths inherent within the active, Guard, and Reserve components. Officials went on to say that each of these Air Force components possess unique strengths that together produce a more effective combat force and a more efficient peacetime force.
The six initiatives involve Air Force active, Guard, and Reserve units in Arizona, Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Texas, New York and Nevada.
Here's a rundown of the Future Total Force initiatives:
Arizona and Texas -- Arizona and Texas Air National Guard operations each will receive a squadron of Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. A Pentagon spokesperson said the Predator drones (which are used for reconnaissance, surveillance and also able to fire Hellfire missiles) Air Force officials said they hope to have the aircraft online by June 2006.
Virginia -- The Air Force plans to integrate pilots, mechanics and other members of a Richmond-based Air National Guard unit into an active-duty Air Force fighter wing in Hampton, where they will fly and help maintain the F/A-22 Raptor, the service’s newest fighter-bomber. The combined unit, to be based at Langley Air Force Base, will give the Guardsmen an apparently unprecedented chance to fly and work on the state-of-the-art aircraft, rather than the hand-me-down weapons sytems the Guard normally inherits from active-duty units.
Utah -- Hill AFB, Utah, is part of a seven-state test project that will unite active-duty military with Air National Guard and Reserve units into a single fighting force. Lt. Gen. Stephen Wood, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs at the Pentagon, said the Air Force can make a significant business case for the efficiencies we'll gain and the money it will save. He said the move would also improve America's combat capabilities. At Hill AFB, reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing will be combined with their active-duty counterparts in the 388th Fighter Wing, who maintain and fly the same F-16 fighters.
Vermont -- The Air Force will station active-duty personnel at a Vermont Air National Guard base, specifically the 158th Fighter Wing located in Burlington. The active-duty folks assigned the the Burlington Guard base would live among civilians, called "community basing." The initiative will supposably help less experienced active-duty Airmen learn from the more seasoned National Guard flyers.
New York -- As part of its effort to integrate Guard and Reserve personnel into more active-duty missions, the Air Force announced it will create an intelligence-gathering station in Western New York by summer 2006. The ground station will be used to analyze global intelligence information. An exact location for the mission was not announced.
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