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Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)

Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

PRESENTATION TO THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FISCAL YEAR 2014 AIR FORCE POSTURE STATEMENT 

STATEMENT OF: THE HONORABLE MICHAEL B. DONLEY 

 SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE 

 GENERAL MARK A. WELSH III 

 CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 

 APRIL 12, 2013 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED 

BY THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
i 

Table of Contents 

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1

Strategic Environment......................................................................................................... 1 

Fiscal Environment .............................................................................................................. 2 

Air Force Core Missions ...................................................................................................... 4 

Air and Space Superiority .......................................................................................... 5 

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance ........................................................ 8 

Rapid Global Mobility ............................................................................................... 10 

Global Strike .............................................................................................................. 13 

Command and Control ............................................................................................... 15 

Airmen Readiness and Development ................................................................................. 17 

Readiness ................................................................................................................... 17 

Airmen Development ................................................................................................. 22 

Active/Reserve Component Balance .................................................................................. 24

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 25 
1 

Introduction 

Today’s Airmen play a pivotal role in the constant pursuit of better ways to defend the Nation. 

Since the airplane was employed over the battlefields of World War I, Airmen have stood for 

and pioneered new and innovative ways to shape the fight and reinvent the battle itself. While 

pre-Kitty Hawk warriors relied on breaking through fortified lines on the ground, Airmen have 

always sought to go over, not through, those fortifications to achieve victory. This spirit of 

innovation, seeing problems from an alternative, multi-dimensional perspective, is in our Service 

history, in our culture, and in every Airmen—Active, Guard, Reserve and Civilian—regardless 

of his or her specialty or role. We call this perspective “airmindedness.” Airmen 

characteristically view security challenges differently—globally, without boundaries. 

As a direct result of our status as the world’s preeminent aerospace nation, airpower—the ability 

to project military power or influence through the control and exploitation of air, space, and 

cyberspace to achieve strategic, operational, or tactical objectives—allows America to control 

the ultimate high ground that is essential to winning our Nation’s wars. The air arms of the 

Army, Navy, and Marine Corps are supremely capable at what they do—facilitating their parent 

Service’s respective mastery of operations on the ground, at sea, and in a littoral environment. 

However, America has only one Air Force specifically designed and precisely employed to 

exploit the singular global advantages of military operations in air, space, and cyberspace. 

Airmen provide Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power for America through the 

enduring Air Force core missions of air and space superiority, intelligence, surveillance, and 

reconnaissance (ISR), rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control. By 

integrating capabilities across these core missions, we bring a unique set of options to deter war, 

deliver rapid, life-saving responses to threatened areas anywhere on the planet, and strike hard 

and precisely wherever and whenever the national interest demands. 

Recruiting and developing high-quality, innovative Airmen who leverage technology to rethink 

military operations to achieve strategic objectives will remain a fundamental tenet of the United 

States Air Force. Only through the efforts of Airmen who have led the way in integrating 

military capabilities across air, space, and cyberspace—even as their numbers have become 

significantly smaller—has our Nation maintained its airpower advantage. In an uncertain world, 

the Nation will depend even more on ready Airmen to deliver Global Reach, Global Vigilance, 

and Global Power. 

Strategic Environment 

In January 2012, the Secretary of Defense issued new defense strategic guidance (DSG)—

Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense—which serves as a 

foundational document in establishing national security interests, the threats to these interests, 

and the fiscal realities that guide our military posture. The DSG directed a rebalance of forces, 

with a renewed focus on the Asia-Pacific region, as well as continued emphasis on the Middle 

East. Using the DSG as a point of departure, the Secretary of Defense recently directed a 

strategic choices and management review in light of budget realities—such as sequestration—

and strategic uncertainty. This review will continue to help the Air Force to identify the major 

strategic choices that we must make to properly and realistically plan for the future. 

Although the future is uncertain, we know that the capability to sustain national priorities hinges 

upon a strong and capable Air Force. Over the last 12 years, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 
2 

required Air Force capabilities to help force rogue regimes from power and then to provide 

critical support to land forces engaged in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, and 

the Air Force currently plans to maintain these capabilities. In addition, the expected military 

challenges of the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Africa suggest an increasing reliance 

on airpower, not only by America and her allies, but also by her adversaries. The defining 

characteristics of American airpower—range, speed, flexibility, precision, persistence, and 

lethality—have played a crucial role in cultivating stability in these regions, a trend that will only 

increase in the future. The sheer geographic size and extended lines of communication of the 

Asia-Pacific region, along with the developing military expansion of potential regional 

adversaries, demand an air force that is postured to ensure stability and preserve U.S. interests. 

The Air Force is committed, along with our joint partners and allies and through cooperative 

military relationships, to ensuring global and regional stability and mutual freedom of access to 

the global commons to secure our common interests around the world. 

The Air Force’s technological advantage is threatened by the worldwide proliferation of 

advanced technologies, including integrated air defenses, long-range ballistic and cruise missiles 

with precision-capable warheads, and advanced air combat capabilities. Advances in adversarial 

capabilities in space control and cyber warfare may also limit U.S. freedom of action. Some of 

these technologies are attained with relatively minimal cost, greatly reducing the barriers to entry 

that have historically limited the reach and power of non-state actors, organized militias, and 

radical extremists. We live in an age of surprise, where individual acts can be powerful and the 

effects can be global. Today’s strategic environment presents a broad range of threats and an 

unpredictable set of challenges, ranging from non-state actors to nuclear armed nations. We 

must continue to invest in our science and technology base to ensure that the future balance of 

power remains in our favor. This requires flexibility, versatility, and a shift to inherently agile, 

deployable, and networked systems from those designed for fixed purposes or limited missions. 

One initiative that we continue to pursue as we consider the strategic environment is the Air-Sea 

Battle concept. Air-Sea Battle is an operational concept focused on the ways and means that are 

necessary to overcome current and anticipated anti-access and area denial threats. By focusing 

on increased integration and interoperability between all Services, the concept ensures that joint 

forces maintain the ability to project power and protect national interests despite the proliferation 

of anti-access/area denial threats worldwide. The concept is not a strategy, nor does it target a 

specific adversary, but instead focuses acquiring pre-integrated, joint capabilities. Beyond 

conflict, the Air-Sea Battle concept can enhance response to humanitarian missions where 

weather or geography may deny access. 

Even as we rebalance our forces, we are aware that the time, place, and nature of the next 

contingency can never be predicted with certainty. When contingencies arise, we must maintain 

the ability to respond immediately and effectively if called to action. To align with the DSG, the 

Air Force has traded size for quality. We aim to be a smaller, but superb, force that maintains 

the agility, flexibility, and readiness to engage a full range of contingencies and threats. 

Fiscal Environment 

We recognize that because our Nation is striving to reduce spending and our military is 

transitioning operations from the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility and rebalancing 

to the Asia-Pacific region, the Air Force must adapt to a relatively static or reduced budget. 
3 

However, reliance by the joint team and the Nation on our unique ability to provide Global 

Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power constrains Air Force options in reducing or 

terminating capabilities or missions. Therefore, we are working hard and making real progress 

in eliminating unnecessary expenses and ensuring more disciplined use of resources. 

Nonetheless, the fiscal environment requires us to make trades between force structure, 

readiness, and modernization among the core missions to ensure the highest quality and ready 

Air Force possible. 

Fiscal Year 2013 Sequestration Effects 

As a result of the triggering of the 2011 Budget Control Act’s sequestration provision, the Air 

Force is implementing significant reductions to our fiscal year 2013 (FY13) operations. If the 

post-sequester Budget Control Act funding caps remain in effect, the Air Force will be unable to 

achieve our agenda of reinvigorating readiness and aligning to the DSG. In both the short- and 

long-term, sequestration will have devastating impacts to readiness, will significantly affect our 

modernization programs, and may cause further force structure reductions. 

Sequestration will force the Air Force to reduce expenditures by around $10 billion in FY13. 

These actions include a planned furlough of more than 170,000 civil service employees, an 18 

percent reduction in flying training and aircraft maintenance, and deferment of critical facility 

requirements (including runway and taxiway repairs). 

Many of these actions severely degrade Air Force readiness. Lost flight hours will cause unit 

stand downs which will result in severe, rapid, and long-term unit combat readiness degradation. 

We have already ceased operations for one-third of our fighter and bomber force. Within 60 

days of a stand down, the affected units will be unable to meet emergent or operations plans 

requirements. Lost currency training requires six months to a year to return to current suboptimal levels, with desired flying proficiency for crewmembers requiring even longer. 

Sequestration impacts are already occurring, and the FY14 President’s Budget (PB) does not 

assume the costs of recovering the readiness impacts from even a partial year of sequestration. 

Depot delays will also result in the grounding of some affected aircraft. The deferments mean 

idled production shops, a degradation of workforce proficiency and productivity, and 

corresponding future volatility and operational costs. It can take two-to-three years to recover 

full restoration of depot workforce productivity and proficiency. In our space portfolio, 

sequestration will force the elimination of some system redundancies, as well as other 

preventative maintenance actions designed to minimize risk. All of these sequestration impacts 

negatively affect Air Force full-spectrum readiness at a time when we have been striving to 

reverse a declining trend in this critical area. 

As a result of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, the Air Force 

has been able to make limited funding transfers and reprogramming actions that will help 

alleviate the most problematic and immediate FY13 funding shortfalls. However, the decisions 

that we have been forced to make in short-term spending may increase total costs over the long 

run. For example, sequestration cuts to Air Force modernization will impact every one of our 

investment programs. These program disruptions will, over time, cost more taxpayer dollars to 

rectify contract restructures and program inefficiencies, raise unit costs, and delay delivery of 

validated capabilities to warfighters in the field. The drastic reduction to modernization 
4 

programs reduces our Air Force’s competitive advantage and decreases the probability of 

mission success in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Sequestration Effects in FY14 and Beyond 

The President’s Budget includes balanced deficit reduction proposals that would allow Congress 

to replace and repeal sequestration in FY13 and the associated cap reductions in FY14 – 21. If 

sequestration is not replaced, however, the Air Force will have to rebuild degraded unit 

readiness, accept further delays to modernization, absorb the backlog in depot maintenance 

inductions, and invest additional funding to restore infrastructure. While the Air Force has made 

every effort to minimize impacts to readiness and people, the bow-wave of reductions, 

deferments, and cancellations associated with sequestration will challenge the strategic choices 

made in the FY14 budget submission. 

The exact impacts of sequestration on Air Force resources in FY14 and beyond depend on 

congressional action. We do know, however, that the national fiscal situation will require some 

reductions that may increase risk to our readiness, force structure, and our ability to modernize 

an aging aircraft inventory. In addition, the outcome of the strategic choices and management 

review may drive further changes. 

As we navigate the uncertain way ahead, in order to mitigate risk in critical areas like readiness, 

force structure, and modernization, and to avoid a hollow force, we will continue to work with 

Congress to develop force shaping options, urgently seek another base realignment and closure 

(BRAC) round, and ask for relief from legislative restrictions on the reduction of excess force 

structure and from mandatory expenditures on programs that we have proposed to retire or 

terminate. To slow the growth in military compensation while also fully supporting the allvolunteer force, we also request congressional support on limiting the basic military pay raise to 

one percent and allowing sensible TRICARE fee and pharmacy co-pay changes. 

In spite of these fiscal challenges, the Air Force will continue to strive to balance reductions 

across the force to maintain the capabilities of the remaining forces and keep the Air Force 

strong. 

Air Force Core Missions 

The Air Force will only remain a superb fighting force in FY14 and beyond by investing in the 

capabilities that enable us to bring our five core missions to the joint team. President Truman 

assigned several roles and missions to the Air Force at its establishment in 1947. Today, the Air 

Force brings essentially the same interdependent, integrated, and enduring contributions to the 

joint fight: 

 Air and space superiority; 

 Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; 

 Rapid global mobility; 

 Global strike; and 

 Command and control. 
5 

Through these core missions, our Airmen provide Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global 

Power for America. While the means through which we provide these core missions will change 

and evolve—for example, the addition of space and cyberspace—the core missions themselves 

will endure. None of these core missions function independently. Their interdependency and 

synchronization provide an unparalleled array of options, giving America the ability to respond 

quickly in the face of unexpected challenges. 

The five core missions shape where we invest the resources we are given. However, the 

significant reductions that the Air Force has faced in the last few years have required us to make 

difficult choices. We have become a markedly smaller Service—the smallest in Air Force 

history. 

Despite this decline in size, our Airmen have stepped up to the challenge and delivered 

incredible airpower for the Nation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They always 

respond when needed—from combat rescue Airmen who exfiltrate the wounded from 

battlefields, to joint terminal attack controllers who direct the actions of combat aircraft engaged 

in close air support, to mobility Airmen who quickly airlift personnel, vehicles, and equipment in 

both combat and relief operations, to the missile combat crews who sit nuclear alert to deter our 

enemies. These brave and innovative men and women must be properly trained and equipped to 

defend the Nation. Experience has taught us that during periods of fiscal austerity, tough 

decisions are necessary to avoid a hollow force—one that looks good on paper, but has more 

units, equipment, and installations than it can support, lacks the resources to adequately man, 

train, and maintain them, and are not provided with enough capable equipment and weapons to 

perform their missions. 

In each core mission described below, we highlight what each core mission means, why it is 

important, our Airmen’s recent accomplishments in that area, and what we are focusing on for 

the future with respect to force structure and modernization. 

AIR AND SPACE SUPERIORITY...FREEDOM FROM ATTACK, FREEDOM TO ATTACK

Air Superiority 

Air superiority is foundational to the application of joint military power, and it ensures that the 

advantages of the other Air Force core missions, as well as the contributions of our sister 

Services, are broadly available to combatant commanders. It includes the ability to control the 

air so that our military forces do not have to worry about being attacked from the air, and it 

ensures that joint forces have the freedom to attack in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Air 

superiority has been and remains an essential precondition for conducting successful military 

operations. Air superiority has provided our Nation with a decades-long asymmetric advantage. 

Joint force and coalition commanders have come to expect mission-essential air superiority 

provided by America’s Airmen. The Air Force has given them ample reason—not since April 

15, 1953, has an enemy combat aircraft killed a service member in the American ground forces. 

In the six major U.S. combat operations of the last two decades, the Air Force’s ability to provide 

air superiority has played an indispensable role in determining the outcome of each conflict. 

Recently, in Operations ODYSSEY DAWN and UNIFIED PROTECTOR, our Airmen patrolled the 

skies of Libya providing 50 percent of allied airborne reconnaissance and 40 percent of allied 

strike missions, equating to over 1,800 total strikes in support of the United Nations-sanctioned 
6 

no-fly zone. In addition, the Air Force provides nearly 100 percent of the Nation’s homeland air 

defense. 

Although air superiority underwrites the freedom of action required for all joint military 

operations, there is no guarantee of it in the future. Substantial near peer investment and 

proliferation of advanced technologies threatens this freedom of action. Our legacy, or fourthgeneration, fighter fleet has secured more than 20 years of an air superiority advantage, but may 

lose its ability operate as effectively in contested environments. Large-scale use of legacy 

aircraft in these environments could be inhibited by the increased survivability of highly lethal, 

advanced integrated air defenses that will likely persist for the duration of future conflicts. Our 

air superiority future depends on modern technology and fifth-generation fighter capability. 

Weapon systems like the F-22, with contributions from the F-35, are what will carry America’s 

Air Force forward to continue to provide that capability. Fifth-generation aircraft possess the 

survivability to operate despite these threats, and the Nation will need them in quantity. 

In FY14, the Air Force will focus on maintaining air superiority by investing $1.3 billion to 

modernize the F-22 and F-15 fleets. The last F-22A was delivered in May 2012. The current F22 upgrade programs include hardware and software enhancements to improve electronic 

protection, weapons capabilities, and service life. The F-15 is undergoing full scale fatigue 

testing to determine remaining service lifespan. In FY14, the Air Force is requesting $308 

million for F-15 fleet radar and electronic warfare upgrades that will permit it to operate in 

conjunction with fifth-generation aircraft in the future threat environment. 

Space Superiority 

Along with air superiority, space superiority is integral to our forces’ ability to remain free from 

attack and have the freedom to attack in the air, on land, and at sea. Joint, interagency, and 

coalition forces depend on Air Force space operations to perform their missions every day. For 

example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) enables precision guided munitions employment 

by all Services, in all weather conditions, minimizing collateral damage and providing the 

nanosecond-level timing needed by today’s interconnected and highly-networked 

communications systems. Beyond defense uses, annual GPS benefits to the economy are in the 

tens of billions of dollars. Air Force military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) systems, 

including Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Wideband Global SATCOM 

(WGS) satellites, provide wideband and protected communications to deployed forces around the 

globe. This enables the command and control needed by our joint force commanders and allows 

deployed warfighters to receive intelligence, logistical, and other support from those serving at 

their home stations. 

In calendar year 2012 (CY12), the Air Force launched nine National Security Space (NSS) 

satellites to bolster our GPS, MILSATCOM, and situational awareness, and this year, we have 

successfully launched an additional satellite to enhance our missile warning capability. These 

launches include putting the fourth WGS, the second AEHF satellite, and the Space-Based 

Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 satellite into orbit. The Air Force also delivered to orbit a new 

communications satellite for the Navy, a third GPS II-F satellite, and four National 

Reconnaissance Office satellites, as well as handled the third successful launch of an orbital test 

vehicle (OTV), including the first reuse of OTV-1. These launches make 58 consecutive 

successful Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launches to date and 90 consecutive 

successful NSS missions. 
7 

To continue to advance our space superiority mission, the Air Force will continue to launch 

satellites to enhance the GPS, AEHF, WGS, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), 

and SBIRS constellations. In CY13, in addition to the SBIRS GEO-2 launched in March, the Air 

Force has five more launches planned— two GPS, one AEHF, and two WGS. In CY14, the Air 

Force plans five launches—three GPS, one DMSP, and one additional EELV launch. Each of 

these launches will continue the necessary modernization of space-based positioning, navigation, 

and timing, protected communications, weather monitoring, and missile warning. 

Despite our success in space, we cannot take our space technological capabilities and advantages 

for granted. The barriers to space access have dropped; nine nations have cleared the 

engineering and technical challenges required to reach space independently, and at least 40 other 

nations have a space presence. As a result, the current space environment is more congested, 

contested, and competitive than ever, and we will see this trend continue for the foreseeable 

future. To ensure that America remains a nation with unfettered access to space and superior 

space capabilities, the Air Force is pursuing ways to maintain a resilient1

 and affordable system 

architecture. Building and launching satellites is expensive, and we are exploring ways to reduce 

costs, increase competition, and improve resiliency without introducing unacceptable risk. 

Our space programs demand significant modernization investment, and the pace of 

modernization for those programs often is based on the life expectancy of on-orbit capabilities. 

The Air Force’s 10 largest programs include four space systems upon which the joint team and 

the American public depend. We must sustain these critical space capabilities with a focus on 

warfighting and mission assurance priorities, while accepting risk to meet fiscal goals. 

To get our satellites safely into orbit, the Air Force has implemented a new EELV acquisition 

strategy to efficiently purchase up to 36 EELV common core boosters at a savings of more than 

$1 billion. This strategy also introduces a competitive environment for up to 14 additional 

common core boosters for which new launch provider entrants can compete, starting as early as 

FY15, giving new entrants a clear path to compete for future NSS missions. For FY14, we are 

investing $2 billion in EELV. 

Our Efficient Space Procurement (ESP) strategy2

 is driving down satellite costs, resulting in 

savings across the future years defense program (FYDP) of more than $1 billion for AEHF 

satellites, and modernizing MILSATCOM systems to provide greater capacity, force reach back, 

and access in benign, contested, and nuclear environments. To improve our ability to provide 

global, persistent, and infrared surveillance capabilities, the Air Force is requesting $1.2 billion 

in FY14 for sustained funding of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). We have already 

achieved over $500 million in savings due to our “block buy” approach and have the potential 

for additional future savings in the SBIRS program due to the ESP strategy. 

 

1

 Resilience is the ability of an architecture to support the functions necessary for mission success in spite of hostile 

action or adverse conditions. An architecture is “more resilient” if it can provide these functions with higher 

probability, shorter periods of reduced capability, and across a wider range of scenarios, conditions, and threats. 

Resilience may leverage cross-domain or alternative government, commercial, or international capabilities. 

2

 ESP is an acquisition strategy that builds on the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Cost Assessment and Program 

Evaluation-developed concept known as Evolutionary Acquisition for Space Efficiency (EASE). EASE sought to 

lower the cost of acquiring space systems by using block buys and reinvesting the savings into the Space 

Modernization Initiative. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition took the EASE 

concept as a building block and added “should cost/will cost” methodology and fixed price incentive fee contracting. 
8 

In addition to replenishing and modernizing aging satellite constellations in critical space 

mission areas, the Air Force must improve space surveillance and the resilience of space-based 

capabilities. Therefore, in FY14, we are requesting $1.2 billion to modernize the GPS space, 

control, and user segments, including the addition of new signals and enhanced anti-jam 

capabilities. To ensure precision navigation and timing capabilities in the future, we are also 

developing technologies, including chip scale atomic clocks, cold atoms, and vision-based 

navigation to reduce dependency on GPS. Space situational awareness (SSA) is truly 

foundational for ensuring our ability to operate safely and effectively in space. To improve our 

ability to discover, search, and monitor near earth objects, we are requesting $403.7 million to 

fund the Space Fence, a new system that will provide increased capacity to observe objects in 

space and, therefore, improve our ability to safely operate our critical space systems. 

International Space Partnerships 

The Air Force remains fully committed to the long-term goal of fostering international 

relationships and supporting ongoing security efforts with partner nations around the globe. 

Teaming with allies and partners not only helps cost-sharing, but it also increases their capability 

and their capacity to support contingency operations. Space is an area in which we have made 

significant progress in building partnerships. For example, in May 2012, the Air Force 

concluded a United States-Canada SSA partnership memorandum of understanding (MOU) 

regarding the Canadian Sapphire satellite system, and we successfully concluded a United 

States-Australia MOU in November 2012 to begin an eight-year, bilateral effort to provide 

dedicated space surveillance coverage in the southern hemisphere. International partners are also 

supporting our SATCOM efforts. In January 2012, the Air Force signed the WGS MOU with 

Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and New Zealand to enable expansion of the 

WGS program to a ninth satellite, thus increasing interoperability and partner access to the 

system. We are also acquiring and fielding the AEHF constellation in cooperation with our 

international partners from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada. In addition, the 

Air Force has also established nine bi- or multi-lateral international agreements to advance the 

benefits of the GPS system. 

In coming years, our Nation’s ability to gain and maintain superiority in air and space will 

become progressively more contested as sophisticated technologies continue to proliferate. 

Beyond modernizing our systems, the key to maintaining air and space superiority is ready and 

trained Airmen who are properly equipped for their mission. When called upon, these Airmen 

must command a well-honed combat edge so that they are ready to prevail even against the most 

advanced opponents. 

INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE...EYES AND EARS ON 

ADVERSARIES

Since the beginning of armed conflict, superior knowledge of adversary intentions, capabilities, 

and actions has been a critical enabler to victory. The evolution of globally integrated ISR has 

fundamentally changed how our military fights wars. The tremendous demand for Air Force ISR 

during recent conflicts and crises highlights their combat advantage. ISR capabilities are among 

the first requested and deployed, and they are increasingly essential to all facets of Air Force and 

joint operations. Airmen deliver integrated, cross-domain ISR capabilities that allow the Air 
9 

Force to provide our Nation’s decision-makers, commanders, and warfighters with a continual 

information advantage over our adversaries. 

The Air Force ISR force is networked to provide both foundational intelligence and immediate 

warfighter support. Sensors operating in air, space, and cyberspace, global communication 

architectures, and a network of regionally aligned centers enable our forces to conduct 

exploitation and analytical efforts in support of combatant commander requirements. The Air 

Force Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) is a critical capability within this global 

network, providing decision advantage across the spectrum of conflict, in all theaters, and in 

support of all operations. 

Last year, our ISR Airmen conducted intelligence preparation of the operational environment, 

shaped combat plans for 33 named operations, enabled the removal of 700 enemy combatants 

from the fight, and provided critical adversary awareness and targeting intelligence to U.S. and 

coalition forces in over 250 “troops-in-contact” engagements. ISR Airmen enhanced battlespace 

awareness through 540,000 hours of sustained overwatch of tactical maneuver forces and lines of 

communication and identified over 100 weapons caches and explosive devices that would have 

otherwise targeted American and partner forces. 

ISR Force Structure and Modernization 

In FY14, our ISR budget request maintains investments in the DCGS, the MQ-1 Predator, the 

RC-135 Rivet Joint, the RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40, and U-2 programs, and makes internal 

adjustments in MQ-9 Reaper program funding so that the program was able to meet a key 

acquisition milestone. 

The Air Force remains on track to field 65 MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9A Reaper combat air 

patrols by May 2014. To maintain our ability to conduct counterterrorism operations, we are 

standing-up five new medium-altitude remotely piloted aircraft combat air patrols in calendar 

year 2013 and continuing our transition to an all-MQ-9 fleet. We have built a highly effective 

permissive ISR capability—a growth of 4,300 percent since 2000—but the survivability in 

contested environments of some remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) is questionable. Therefore, in a 

post-Afghanistan security environment and as we rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, we are reviewing 

the need to adjust the RPA mix toward more survivable systems. 

The enduring and universal requirement for ISR capabilities, coupled with a complex and 

dangerous future security environment, drive the need to modernize our ISR forces. This 

modernization will include improved automated tools for the Air Force DCGS, a system that 

allows the processing, exploitation, and dissemination of an enormous amount of information 

every day, as well as integrated networks that are secure and reliable. The regionally aligned 

distributed ground sites will be the centerpiece of our cross-domain, global ISR enterprise and 

will allow Airmen to exploit real-time data from sensors and platforms, even in contested 

environments. To modernize to an easily upgradable and interoperable architecture, we must 

overcome policy and technical impediments to allow for seamless intelligence sharing and 

integration with intelligence community agencies, other Services, and coalition partners. The 

FY14 PB requests $62 million for military construction investments for a new DCGS building to 

support more than 200 operators, maintainers, support personnel, and mission systems at Beale 

AFB, California. 
10 

Significant reductions in Air Force-provided ISR capabilities would be inconsistent with the 

current needs of our joint forces. Although ISR forces will continue to engage in 

counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, they must also evolve to address the 

challenges of the more contested environment of the Asia-Pacific region, including increased 

emphasis on air and naval forces, as well as greater cooperation and partnership with allies and 

regional partners. For example, we are currently exploring potential ISR efficiencies that can be 

gained by collaborating with the Navy, and we continue to grow and mature our intelligence 

partnerships with strategic allies across the Pacific. One ISR Airmen will also continue their 

partnerships within the intelligence community to leverage national capabilities for the air 

component commander and better position combat support agencies to support air, space, and 

cyber operations. 

To enhance our ability to conduct ISR across the range of military operations, we must shift our 

efforts to solutions that enable robust and reliable communication architectures, all-domain data 

processing and exploitation, advanced analytical tools, and cross-domain targeting. We are 

dedicated to improving the automation and machine-to-machine capabilities of intelligence 

analysis systems in order to deliver greater operational advantage to combatant commanders. 

Therefore, in the FY14 PB, we are requesting an increase of 88 personnel at the Air Force 

Targeting Center to support deliberate planning requirements, and we are investing $20 million 

for network centric collaboration targeting capabilities, which includes developing targeting 

automation tools, machine-to-machine interfaces, and auto-populate capabilities across ISR 

intelligence and command and control systems. We also plan to add Air National Guard 

targeting units at two locations to solidify our commitment to reinvigorating the Air Force 

targeting enterprise. 

The strength of our Air Force ISR enterprise continues to be our professional, well trained, and 

dedicated Airmen, officer, enlisted, and civilian, who take all this technology and data and 

transform it into a decision advantage for our Air Force, our joint teammates, and our Nation. 

Air Force ISR allows our forces to own the night in Afghanistan, connect with partners across 

Europe and Africa, and provide warning on the Korean peninsula. The integration of air, space, 

and cyber ISR is a powerful capability—one in which we must continue to invest our talent and 

resources. 

RAPID GLOBAL MOBILITY...DELIVERY ON DEMAND

The Air Force’s rapid global mobility core mission projects American influence quickly and 

precisely to anywhere on the face of the earth. Air mobility forces provide swift deployment and 

sustainment capability by delivering essential equipment and personnel for missions ranging 

from major combat to humanitarian relief operations around the world and at home. On any 

given day, the Air Force’s mobility aircraft deliver critical personnel and cargo and provide 

airdrop of time-sensitive supplies, food, and ammunition on a global scale. America’s mobility 

fleet averages one take-off or landing every two minutes, every day of the year. 

Airlift 

The Air Force provides unprecedented airlift responses through our strategic and tactical airlift 

fleets. Here at home, a 12-base effort was initiated within 72 hours of Superstorm Sandy’s 

landfall in October 2012. Active and Reserve airlift crews from Wright-Patterson Air Force 

Base (AFB), McChord AFB, and Travis AFB converged on March Air Reserve Base and worked 
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together to move 356 utility workers from across California and 134 utility vehicles with their 

associated equipment—totaling 2.4 million pounds of cargo—in less than 96 hours to places like 

Stewart Air National Guard Base and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. This 

Total Force effort helped quickly bring utility trucks and workers to where they were needed on 

the East Coast to help restore power to affected Americans four days sooner than if the vehicles 

and equipment would have been driven across the country. 

In CY12, Airmen flew 38,000 airlift missions, and over the course of 1,300 airdrops, the Air 

Force dropped 40 million pounds of life-saving sustainment to coalition forces on the ground in 

Afghanistan—86 percent more than the entire Korean War. The capability to airdrop personnel, 

equipment, and humanitarian relief, especially in contested environments, remains critical to our 

Nation’s defense. 

For the inter-theater airlift fleet, C-17 procurement will complete this year, but essential 

modernization programs to standardize the configuration of the entire 223 aircraft fleet continue. 

Our FY14 budget request includes $1.1 billion to continue the conversion of 52 C-5B aircraft to 

C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft, with expected completion in FY17. 

In FY14, the Air Force will also continue its efforts to modernize its intra-theater airlift and 

special operations C-130-type aircraft. In 2014, the Air Force seeks congressional support to 

embark upon a C-130J multi-year procurement contract that will extend through FY18. Over the 

course of this contract, we will procure 72 C-130J-type aircraft to further recapitalize our airlift, 

special operations, and personnel recovery platforms. The contract is expected to provide 

approximately $574.3 million worth of savings to the Air Force over the life of the procurement 

program and deliver aircraft earlier than annual contracts would. 

Supported by the C-130 multi-year contract, the Air Force has programmed $963.5 billion 

dollars to continue procurement of AC/MC-130Js to recapitalize Air Force Special Operation 

Command’s MC-130E/P and AC-130H aircraft. The AC-130H recapitalization effort concludes 

in FY14, as does the CV-22 procurement, with the purchase of the last three airframes. 

Air Refueling 

Mobility forces also provide in-flight refueling—the linchpin to power projection at 

intercontinental distances. Over the past 50 years, the Air Force has provided unparalleled air 

refueling capability to support the interests of our Nation and her allies. The Air Force flew 

16,000 tanker missions last year, and since September 11, 2001, America’s tanker fleet has 

offloaded over 2.36 billion gallons to joint and coalition air forces. The new KC-46 tanker will 

help maintain this capability—the backbone of America’s military reach—while also extending 

the range and persistence of joint and coalition aircraft. 

As the Air Force considers where to invest in this core mission area, we are seeking the most 

effective and efficient way to move people and equipment. We also anticipate a future that will 

call for us to provide rapid global mobility to remote, austere locations in contested 

environments. This will first require a very capable tanker fleet. Replacing one-third of the 50 

year-old KC-135 aerial refueling tanker fleet with the KC-46A is our top Air Force acquisition 

priority. The KC-46A program will ensure that our Nation retains a tanker fleet able to provide 

crucial air refueling capacity worldwide for decades to come. In FY14, we programmed $1.6 

billion dollars for the manufacture of four developmental aircraft. The initial flights of the KC-
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46A test aircraft are scheduled to begin in FY14. The program is currently executing as planned, 

and we are on track to receive 18 operational aircraft by late FY17. Until the KC-46A reaches 

full operational capability, we are resourcing critical modernization of the KC-10 and KC-135 

tanker fleets. 

Combat Rescue/Aeromedical Evacuation 

Combat rescue and aeromedical evacuation forces are other key parts of the rapid global mobility 

force. The Air Force is the only Service with a dedicated force organized, trained, and equipped 

to execute personnel recovery. These highly trained Airmen support Air Force, joint, and 

coalition forces in a wide variety of mission areas. With a unique combination of armed, highly 

advanced HH-60-G Pave Hawk helicopters and specially trained Airmen, we provide a unique 

capability to recover wounded soldiers and civilians in environments considered too hostile for 

standard medical evacuation units. In addition to overseas contingency deployments, these 

Airmen also serve as first responders during disaster relief and humanitarian assistance 

operations, making pararescue one of the most highly stressed career fields in the U.S. military. 

Since 2001, our combat rescue forces have saved over 7,000 lives, and in 2012 alone, they flew 

4,500 missions that saved 1,128 coalition, joint and partner nation lives in some of the harshest 

environments in the world. 

Aeromedical evacuation also continues to play a vital role in providing responsive, world-class 

medical support to wounded soldiers and injured civilians around the globe. In CY12, the Air 

Force airlifted 12,000 patients; since 2003, we have transported a staggering 195,000 patients. 

To enhance our response to battlefield evacuation support, we developed and deployed tactical 

critical care evacuation teams to provide triage care on rotary wing aircraft closer to the point of 

injury. Our health response teams include rapidly deployable, modular, and scalable field 

hospitals. They provide immediate care within minutes of arrival, surgery and intensive care 

units within six hours, and full capability within 12 hours of deployment. These advances have 

elevated battlefield survival rates to unprecedented levels, with a nearly 30 percent improvement 

since Operation DESERT STORM (Iraq) in the early 1990s. 

With the recapitalization of the HC-130N/P with the HC-130J through the C-130 multi-year 

program, the Air Force continues its effort to modernize its personnel recovery programs. The 

Combat Rescue Helicopter Program will replace the aging HH-60G fleet, and the Operational 

Loss Replacement Program will replace HH-60G aircraft lost during operations over the past 

decade, returning the HH-60G inventory to 112 aircraft. This year, we budgeted $393.6 million 

to finalize the modification process and begin testing the first two aircraft. The ability of Air 

Force helicopters to fight their way in and out of medical evacuation and recovery operations is 

unique to the joint team and has proven its value over the past ten years. Currently, the combat 

rescue fleet is sized appropriately to meet our global strategy. 

Mobility Force Structure 

Air Force mobility forces, including long-range strategic airlifters, tankers, and tactical airlifters 

are sized to move and sustain joint forces over long distances. Congress manages the long-range 

fleet to a specific floor, currently 301 aircraft. However, after submission to Congress of a report 

required by the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act, we anticipate that this floor will be 

lowered to 275. The tanker fleet is largely right-sized to support the joint force. However, the 

tactical airlift fleet is sized somewhat larger than the defense strategy requires. 
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Rapid global mobility will continue to be a critical core mission for the Air Force. Whether it is 

sustaining the warfighter in any environment or delivering hope with humanitarian assistance, 

Airmen will ensure that the whole of government and international partners are strengthened 

with this unique capability to get assets to the fight quickly, remain in the fight, and return home 

safely. 

GLOBAL STRIKE...ANY TARGET, ANY TIME

As a significant portion of America’s deterrent capability, Air Force global strike provides the 

Nation the ability to project military power more rapidly, more flexibly, and with a lighter 

footprint than other military options. The Air Force’s nuclear deterrent and conventional 

precision strike forces can credibly deny adversary objectives or impose unacceptable costs by 

effectively holding any target on the planet at risk and, if necessary, disabling or destroying 

targets promptly, even from bases in the continental United States. Global strike may entail 

close support to troops at risk, interdicting enemy fielded forces, or striking an adversary’s vital 

centers from great distances. Credible long-range strike capabilities are indispensable for 

deterrence and provide fundamental military capabilities to underpin U.S. military power. Air 

Force global strike capability relies on a wide-range of systems including bombers, missiles, 

tankers, special operations platforms, fighters, and other Air Force systems. 

Nuclear Deterrent Forces 

The unique attributes of the Air Force’s nuclear deterrent forces—the stabilizing characteristics 

of the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and the flexibility of the bomber—underwrite 

the Nation’s ability to achieve stability amidst the likely crises and challenges of the coming 

decades. Air Force B-2 and B-52 bombers and ICBM crews—who continually stand watch all 

day, every day—provide two legs of the Nation’s nuclear triad, while our nuclear command, 

control, and communications systems provide the National Command Authority the necessary 

tools to employ all strategic forces. Together, our bombers, tankers, ICBMs, and dual-capable 

fighters provide this “no fail” capability as the backbone of America’s deterrence. 

Against a backdrop of increasingly contested air, space, and cyber environments, the Air Force 

must maintain its ability to hold any target at risk and provide the Nation a credible strategic 

deterrent force. This capability, unmatched by any other nation’s air force, will only grow in 

importance as America rebalances its force structure and faces potential adversaries that are 

modernizing their militaries to deny access to our forces. Therefore, the Air Force will 

modernize global strike capabilities to ensure that American forces are free to act when, where, 

and how they are needed. 

Consistent with the DSG, in FY14, the Air Force is investing in the development of the long 

range strike family of systems. The Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B)—another of the Air 

Force’s three top acquisition programs—is a key piece of that effort, and we are requesting 

$379.4 million for LRS-B in FY14. The Air Force is committed to leveraging mature 

technologies and streamlined acquisition processes to deliver an affordable new bomber with 

conventional and nuclear strike capabilities. Therefore, the Air Force will certify the LRS-B for 

nuclear weapons employment within two years after initial operating capability to simplify the 

development and fielding of the aircraft, as well as have the benefit of conducting its nuclear 

certification on a mature system. 
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While the LRS-B is in development, sustaining and modernizing B-52 and B-2 bombers is 

critical to ensure that these aging aircraft remain viable. Upgrades to the B-2’s Defensive 

Management System, communications improvements on the B-52 via the Combat Network 

Communications Technology (CONECT) program, and aircraft sustainment efforts, such as the 

anti-skid system replacement on the B-52, are just a few examples of steps being taken to ensure 

the effectiveness of our bomber fleet for years to come. Independent of specific platforms, we 

budgeted $122.8 million to continue the adaptive engine technology development effort to 

mature advanced propulsion technology to decrease fuel consumption and increase range and 

loiter time. 

Nuclear weapons improvements include the B61-12 tail kit assembly program, which is 

undergoing its preliminary design review. We are also modernizing ICBM fuzes for Mk21 and 

Mk12A re-entry vehicles, leveraging common technologies and components with the ongoing 

Navy fuze program. 

As long as nuclear weapons exist, the Air Force is committed to meeting the President’s 

direction to maintain safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrence capabilities. The quantity of 

nuclear-capable bombers and ICBMs comprising the bulk of the Nation’s deterrent force may be 

reduced as we continue to implement the New START Treaty. However, the treaty allows both 

sides to determine their own force structures, which gives us flexibility to deploy and maintain 

our strategic nuclear forces in a way that is best calculated to serve our national security 

interests. But deeper reductions must consider multi-dimensional challenges from the world’s 

emerging nuclear powers in a more complex security environment. The Nation’s nuclear 

expertise must not be allowed to atrophy, and focused attention is necessary no matter the size of 

the nuclear force. 

Precision Strike Forces 

In addition to nuclear deterrent forces, our conventional precision strike forces hold any target at 

risk across the air, land, and sea domains. Currently, precision strike forces and armed ISR 

support joint and coalition ground forces in Afghanistan and Africa. In 2012, the Air Force flew 

and supported over 28,000 close air support sorties in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM

(Afghanistan). However, as our forces rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and as antiaccess/area-denial capabilities proliferate, the ability of our fourth-generation fighters and legacy 

bombers to penetrate contested airspace will be increasingly challenged. 

Success in counterterrorism and irregular warfare missions requires the continued ability to 

conduct operations in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments, using other than 

conventional forces. Air Commandos provide specialized expertise for infiltration, exfiltration, 

precision strike, battlefield air operations, ISR, and aviation foreign internal defense that are 

essential to joint special operations capabilities. In 2012, Air Force special operations personnel 

executed 1,642 strike missions and 7,713 specialized mobility missions. Persistent special 

operations presence in Afghanistan and elsewhere, increasing requirements in the Pacific, and 

enduring global commitments will continue to stress our Air Force special operations Airmen 

and aircraft. 

In FY14, the Air Force is concentrating on funding the F-35 program—one of our top three 

acquisition programs. While also complementing the F-22’s world class air superiority 

capabilities, the F-35A is designed to penetrate air defenses and deliver a wide range of precision 
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munitions. This modern, fifth-generation aircraft brings the added benefit of increased allied 

interoperability and cost-sharing between Services and partner nations. In FY14, we are 

investing $4.2 billion in the continued development of the F-35 weapon system and the 

procurement of 19 low rate initial production Lot 8 aircraft. The Air Force is focused on 

completion of the system design and development of the F-35 by FY17 and requests $782.3 

million in FY14 for this purpose. 

During F-35 development, it is imperative that we maintain our fourth-generation fighter fleet. 

The F-16 is undergoing full-scale durability testing to inform structural modification efforts to 

extend its service life. At least 300 F-16s will undergo a service life extension program and a 

capability enhancement called Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite, which permits 

them to remain relevant in the near-term threat environment until the F-35 is available in 

sufficient numbers. We are requesting $52.3 million in FY14 for these enhancements. 

Modernizing our munitions to align with the DSG is also an urgent requirement that is 

fundamental to managing the risk associated with combat force reductions. In FY14, the Air 

Force is investing $1.1 billion in preferred conventional munitions, such as the AIM-120D, AIM9X, AGM-158, and GBU-53, and is developing new munitions to address future needs. We are 

also continuing our efforts to ensure the safety, security, and effectiveness of our nuclear arsenal. 

The Air Force must maintain its ability to neutralize any target at any time with global strike 

forces so that America’s military credibility will remain uncontested, allies will not worry, and 

potential adversaries will not be emboldened to challenge the pursuit of our national objectives. 

COMMAND AND CONTROL...TOTAL FLEXIBILITY

Airmen employ the Air Force’s other four interdependent and enduring core missions through 

robust, adaptable, and survivable command and control systems. The Air Force provides access 

to reliable communications and information networks so that the joint team can operate globally 

at a high tempo and level of intensity. Air Force command and control systems give 

commanders the ability to conduct highly coordinated joint operations on an unequaled scale 

using centralized control and decentralized execution. 

The Theater Air Control System (TACS) is the Air Force’s primary system to enable planning, 

control, and execution of joint or combined air operations. The senior element of the TACS is 

the air operations center (AOC). The inherently flexible capabilities of the AOC and its crews 

allow for deliberately planned responses to anticipated challenges and dynamically planned 

responses to contingencies. The Air Force’s primary TACS weapons systems, such as the 

Control and Reporting Center (CRC), the E-3 B/C/G Airborne Warning and Control System 

(AWACS), and the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), provide the 

AOC with the critical battle management, sensors, and communications that are required to get 

the right information to the right person in a timely manner. 

In Operation ODYSSEY DAWN (Libya) in 2011, TACS Airmen enabled more than 2,000 sorties to 

enforce the United Nations’ no-fly zone. In 2012, Air Force command and control operations 

included: planning, executing, and controlling over 60,000 combat sorties in support of 

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan); over 12,000 sorties in support of Operation 

NOBLE EAGLE (U.S. air defense); over 1,700 sorties supporting 35 defense support to civil 

authorities events; over 9,000 global aeromedical evacuation missions; noncombatant evacuation 
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operations as a result of the terrorist attack on the American embassy in Libya; and over 1,500 

ISR missions supporting United States Southern Command and Northern Command. Our 

command and control systems enabled us to conduct many of these operations simultaneously. 

It is essential that we continue to modernize, upgrade, and refit our operational and tactical level 

command and control systems and sensors to maintain the Nation’s advantage in command and 

control. Our systems are under constant attack, as illustrated by the new and more capable 

threats emerging daily in the areas of cyber weapons, anti-satellite systems, advanced 

fighter/attack aircraft, and electromagnetic jamming. Our potential adversaries are also making 

advances by electronically linking their own combat capabilities, creating new military 

challenges that our forces must be prepared to address. 

To respond to these challenges, the Air Force will field advanced command and control systems 

that are more reliable, resilient, and interoperable. More importantly, we will recruit and train 

innovative Airmen to build, manage, and advance our complex and diverse command and 

control systems while enabling their ready use by our own and allied forces. Modernization of 

existing systems, such as the CRC and E-3G Block 40/45, and AOC 10.2 will serve as the 

backbone of this effort. In FY14, we are investing $396.8 million in E-3G Block 40/45, $58.1 

million in AOC 10.2, and $26.4 million in CRC. We are also funding critical investments in 

future capabilities, such as the Joint Aerial Layer Network. The Air Force has also initiated 

modernization of crucial national command, control, and communications systems and is 

investing $52.3 million in FY14 to fund data linkages between fifth-generation aircraft and 

legacy fleets. Finally, the Air Force continues to examine alternatives for the future of the 

JSTARS mission area. 

Cyber Capabilities 

The capability to deliver airpower is intimately dependent on the ability to operate effectively in 

cyberspace, which is critical to all of our core missions and many of our command and control 

systems. Operations in cyberspace can magnify military effects by increasing the efficiency and 

effectiveness of air and space operations and by helping to integrate capabilities across all 

domains. Pervasive and highly interconnected, cyberspace operations will remain extremely 

contested. The United States faces cyber-attacks on key infrastructures. The cost of entry is 

low, anonymity is high, and attribution is difficult. The Air Force recognizes the severity of 

these threats, as well as the speed and interconnected nature of cyberspace, and is dedicated to 

ensuring the access and freedom of maneuver that are essential for effective cyber operations. 

Cyber roles and responsibilities are certainly not exclusive to the Air Force; however, the 

integration of cyber capabilities with each of our core missions is an essential component of how 

we bring innovative, globally focused “airmindedness” to ensure our warfighting advantage. In 

FY13, the Secretary of Defense decided on a new force model for Department of Defense (DoD) 

cyber operations. This model will increase the Air Force cyber force structure and manning. 

The additional manpower will provide the Air Force capability for national, combatant 

command, and Air Force cyber missions. For example, the Air Force has increased funding to 

$3.6 million in FY14 to Cyber Hunter teams who provide precision capability to identify, pursue, 

and mitigate cyberspace threats affecting critical links and nodes within the Air Force network. 

The Air Force will continue to synchronize forces across air, space, and cyberspace to achieve 

mission success in dynamic battlespaces and support integrated and interoperable joint command 
17 

and control capabilities that are agile, responsive, and survivable, even in contested 

environments. 

Airmen Readiness and Development

While it is common to define the Air Force by its core missions or by our aircraft, missiles, and 

satellites, the reality is that our Service’s unmatched capabilities exist only because of the 

imagination and knowledge of our outstanding Airmen. Accordingly, we believe in taking care 

of our people first, while always remaining focused on the mission. To ensure that our Airmen 

can continue to power the enduring core missions for the Nation, we must invest in their 

readiness and development. 

READINESS

Underpinning our Airmen’s ability to provide Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global 

Power to the Nation and contribute our core missions to the joint team is their readiness. 

“Readiness” is the ability of a unit to provide its designed operational capabilities within the 

required timeline. It is comprised of personnel requirements, training (to include flying hours), 

weapon system sustainment, facilities, and installations. A good readiness posture depends on 

health in all of these key areas. While protecting future readiness includes modernizing the 

weapons systems and equipment, creating combat readiness in the near-term is a complex task 

involving the intersection of personnel, materiel, and training. It includes balancing time 

between operational and training commitments, funding from multiple sources, informed levels 

of risk, and effectively managing resources to achieve the desired state of readiness. 

Mitigating the risk associated with a smaller military requires a fully ready force. A smaller 

force with less capacity requires greater attention to ensuring adequate personnel levels, aircraft 

availability, weapons, and sufficient training to support the full range of mission requirements at 

the desired level of competency. If we attempt to sustain current force levels while personnel 

and operational costs rise, there will be progressively fewer resources available to support our 

current number of installations, maintain existing aircraft inventories, vital equipment, and 

weapons, and invest in future capabilities. These factors become more critical as shortages in 

aircraft availability, weapons, and key personnel grow and exert a larger negative effect on the 

overall readiness of the force. 

While the Air Force has met the demands of a high operational tempo in support of today’s fight, 

this has inevitably taken a toll on our weapons systems and people, putting a strain on the overall 

readiness of the force. As reflected by Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD)-mandated Status of 

Requirements and Training System (SORTS) metrics, we have seen a steady decline in unit 

readiness since 2003; our readiness must improve. The rebalance to the Asia-Pacific and our 

continued presence in the Middle East and Africa indicate that the demand for Air Force 

capabilities will remain constant, or perhaps even rise, over the next decade. 

Currently, the bulk of the funding for maintaining numerous missions initially fielded with 

overseas contingency operations (OCO) funding (e.g., MQ-1/9, MC-12, and the E-11A with its 

battlefield airborne communications node capability) remains in the upcoming FY14 budget 

request. If the Air Force is to retain those capabilities for the long-term, funding for the aircraft 

and the capabilities and the infrastructure that supports them must migrate from OCO funding to 

an adjusted base budget. If the base budget is not adjusted, these capabilities will either have to 
18 

be retired or be retained at the expense of other full spectrum forces and capabilities, which 

would increase risks. 

The Air Force supports combatant command missions that require 24/7 availability and attention. 

Space operations, command and control, cyber defense, ISR, special operations, personnel 

recovery, and nuclear deterrence are all high priority missions that cannot be done adequately, 

and in some cases cannot be done safely, at low readiness levels. In support of U.S. defense 

strategy, air forces are inherently capable of responding quickly and can be shifted on relatively 

short notice between critical theaters of operation. Allowing the Air Force to slip to a lower state 

of readiness that requires a subsequent long buildup to full combat effectiveness will negate the 

essential strategic advantages of airpower and put joint forces at increased risk. 

Therefore, the Air Force’s portion of the FY14 PB aligns resources in an effort to slow the 

readiness decline and sets the stage for restoring full-spectrum readiness. However, as noted 

previously, the effects of sequestration in FY13 will hamper our readiness efforts in FY14 and 

beyond. The pillars of our full-spectrum readiness effort include: a consistent, equitable, and 

attainable flying hour program; prioritized full-spectrum training venues; focused weapons 

systems sustainment funding; appropriate reallocation of manpower to our highest priority 

missions; sustainment of our power projection platforms (Air Force installations); and 

developing and caring for Airmen and their families. 

Through planned funding of weapons system sustainment, the flying hours program, training 

ranges, facilities and installations, and modernization programs, the Air Force could maintain its 

legacy of “spring-loaded” readiness. In the past 35 years, the Air Force has been called upon 

nearly 150 times to conduct combat or humanitarian operations in more than 45 countries, and 

combat sorties in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility have continued uninterrupted 

since 1991. The completion of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are important 

milestones that should provide an opportunity to reset the force, but other international security 

challenges remain and, in some cases, are growing. America will continue to need a ready Air 

Force. 

Weapons System Sustainment (WSS) 

WSS is a key component of full-spectrum readiness. Years of combat demands have taken a toll 

across many weapons systems, and we continue to see an increase in the costs of WSS 

requirements, which are driven by sustainment strategy, complexity of new weapons systems, 

operations tempo, force structure changes, and growth in depot work packages for aging, legacy 

aircraft. With recent force structure reductions, we must carefully manage how we allocate WSS 

in order to avoid availability shortfalls. 

The FY14 budget submission adds $1.5 billion to the WSS portfolio across the FYDP. Although 

the FY14 PB adds baseline funds for WSS, we continue to rely on OCO funding for global 

contingency operations. 

WSS funding requirements for combat-ready air, space, and cyber forces have consistently 

increased at a rate double that of DoD inflation planning factors. Although service life extension 

programs and periodic modifications have allowed our inventory to support 20 years of unabated 

operations, the cost of maintenance and sustainment continues to rise. As a result, we want to 

improve the link between resources and readiness for Air Force weapons systems by reducing 
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costs, improving risk-based decision making, and balancing costs with performance. To address 

the trend of higher costs, we are reviewing and streamlining organizations and processes to 

reduce maintenance and material costs, develop depot efficiencies, and manage weapons systems 

requirements growth. We are taking actions to reduce requirements by examining the potential 

for restructuring or modifying new and existing contractor logistics support contracts to optimize 

tradeoffs, provide visibility, and improve flexibility between costs and outcomes. We will also 

leverage risk-based strategies and evaluate maintenance schedules to maximize aircraft 

availability and apply performance-based logistics solutions to balance total sustainment costs 

with performance. 

Despite our efforts, WSS costs are still expected to grow, and new, more capable aircraft are 

often more expensive to maintain than those they replace. In the current fiscal environment, our 

efforts to restore weapons system availability to required levels will be a serious challenge. 

Flying Hour Program (FHP) 

The emphasis on readiness in the DSG reinforced the need to implement a FHP that achieves 

full-spectrum readiness. The Air Force balanced the allocation of flying hours across the Total 

Force to incrementally improve readiness levels. The flying hour program will continue to rely 

on OCO funding to support Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and the redeployment of combat 

forces from Afghanistan. With the expectation of decreasing OCO flying hours, we have 

programmed increasing O&M-funded flying hours in FY15 and throughout the FYDP. 

Beginning in FY15, the program is approximately 90 percent of the peacetime training 

requirement to attain full-spectrum readiness across the Total Force, reflecting our assessment of 

the full executable program. 

We are also committed to a long-term effort to increase our live, virtual, and constructive 

operational training (LVC-OT) capability and capacity by funding improvements in LVC-OT 

devices (e.g., simulators and virtual trainers) and networks. Adjustments to the flying hour 

programs will continue to evolve as the fidelity of simulators and LVC-OT capabilities improve. 

Increasing our virtual capabilities will minimize fuel consumption and aircraft maintenance costs 

while ensuring high quality training for our aircrews. In FY14, we are investing $3.3 million for 

LVC-OT purposes. 

Training Ranges 

Full-spectrum training requires the availability of air-to-air and air-to-ground training ranges. 

Many of our ranges are venues for large-scale joint and coalition training events and are critical 

enablers for concepts like Air-Sea Battle. In FY14, we are requesting range O&M funding of 

$75.8 million to sustain these crucial national assets to elevate flying training effectiveness for 

the joint team, which in turn improves individual and unit readiness levels. Unfortunately, 

previous years’ baseline range funding was at levels as low as 25 percent of requirements, 

resulting in a corresponding corrosive effect as range infrastructure deteriorated and aircrews 

only maintained readiness in skill sets oriented toward current combat operations. This year, we 

are reversing this trend by raising baseline range funding to 74 percent of requirements to begin a 

return to full-spectrum readiness. As we continue to realign to the DSG, additional range 

investment and sustainment funding will be necessary to ensure that our combat forces are 

prepared for the full range of potential threats and environments. 
20 

In FY14, the Air Force is poised to work with the joint community to establish cyber ranges that 

enable realistic testing and evaluation of new cyber concepts, policies, and technologies. These 

ranges will provide a venue for evaluating network services, information assurance, and 

offensive and defensive cyber capabilities in a closed and secure environment. Coupled with the 

Air Force’s program for simulator-based cyber education, training, crew certification, and 

exercises, these cyber ranges will provide trained and tested cyber operators able to strike targets 

anywhere on the globe, as well as defend against foreign and domestic attacks. 

Facilities, Installations, and Energy 

From cyber to long-range strike, installation readiness buttresses the Air Force’s core mission. 

Therefore, the Air Force’s FY14 budget request employs a balanced approach to our installation 

investment strategy. Our installations are power projection platforms comprised of both built 

and natural infrastructure that: (1) effectively enable Air Force core operational capabilities—we 

deliver air, space and cyber capabilities from our installations; (2) send a strategic message of 

commitment to allies and intent to adversaries; (3) foster partnership-building by stationing our 

Airmen side-by-side with our coalition partners; and (4) enable worldwide accessibility in times 

of peace or conflict. Therefore, we must maintain sustainable installations to enable Air Force 

support to the vectors outlined in the DSG. 

In the FY14 PB, the Air Force returned military construction (MILCON) investment levels to 

near historic norms following the deliberate pause of FY13. This year, the $1.2 billion 

investment focuses on supporting beddown requirements for the F-35 and KC-46, combatant 

commanders’ top priorities in cyber and nuclear deterrence, and the re-balance to the AsiaPacific theater. 

Recognizing the links between MILCON and facilities sustainment, restoration, and 

modernization (FSRM), we are funding facilities sustainment at 80 percent of the OSD facilities 

sustainment model requirement, and we added over $400 million for restoration and 

modernization across the FYDP to enable consolidation efforts and improve the quality of our 

most mission-enabling facilities. 

Foundational to all of our efforts, energy enables the force and sustains our national security 

posture. Energy, which comprises about eight percent of the Air Force budget, enables Air Force 

core missions, and fuels our operational capabilities. The Air Force recognizes the vulnerability 

and volatility created by our dependence on finite, non-renewable energy supplies. Therefore, 

we are committed to increasing energy security and becoming ever more energy efficient. We 

have already made great strides in reducing consumption and improving efficiency. Since 2006, 

the Air Force has reduced its fuel consumption by 12 percent, exceeding a 10 percent reduction 

goal three years ahead of schedule. 

Overall, our focus is to reduce our energy footprint across all operations. Investments we made 

in FY12 to improve our facility energy efficiency and reduce our energy requirement are 

expected to start generating savings in FY14. The Air Force is also looking to improve its 

energy security and diversify its energy supply through increased use of renewable energy. We 

also plan to improve our energy security by making the most of private sector knowledge, 

technology, and financing to capitalize on underutilized land on our installations. 
21 

The Need for Base Realignment and Closure 

As we make efforts to improve and sustain our installations, we also recognize that we are 

carrying infrastructure that is excess to our needs. A capacity analysis conducted prior to the 

2005 BRAC suggested that the Air Force had 24 percent capacity that was excess to our mission 

needs. However, the 2005 BRAC did not make major reductions to Air Force facilities, and 

since that time, we have reduced our force structure by more than 500 aircraft and reduced our 

active duty military end-strength by seven percent. The Air Force currently has significant 

excess infrastructure that is very expensive to maintain in terms of both financial and human 

resources. In the current and projected fiscal environment, we simply cannot afford it. The Air 

Force has limited authority under current public law to effectively consolidate military units or 

functions and divest excess real property. The money that we are spending on maintaining 

excess infrastructure is more urgently needed to recapitalize and sustain our weapon systems, 

improve readiness, and invest in the quality of life needs of Airmen. 

Readiness and Modernization 

The decline in future budgets does not allow us to improve readiness while also maintaining 

force structure and continuing all planned investment programs. To prioritize readiness, we have 

made a conscious choice to take some risk by making sacrifices in modernization programs. 

Although we have been more effective in our use of operating resources and garnered savings 

from better business practices,3 the Air Force has been forced to terminate or restructure several 

programs. Program restructures and terminations include terminating the Space Based 

Surveillance Block 10 follow-on, freezing Gorgon Stare at Increment II, terminating Air Force 

participation in the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System land-based segment, and 

divesting the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) Battlelab in FY14. 

The Air Force also terminated acquisition of the underperforming Expeditionary Combat 

Support System (ECSS). ECSS was initiated in 2005 in an effort to provide end-to-end visibility 

of the Air Force’s supply chain and enable better logistics decision-making. As planned, ECSS 

would have transformed the logistics enterprise, making all aspects interoperable and 

synchronized with the financial and accounting systems to enhance business and mission 

operations and realize efficiencies. Unfortunately, after several years of schedule delays, poor 

contractor performance, and cost increases, we determined that the program could not meet the 

FY17 financial improvement and audit readiness statutory requirement and was not likely to 

achieve other promised capabilities at an affordable cost. Instead of continuing to spend money 

on an underperforming program, the Air Force determined that the prudent course of action was 

to pursue other ways to transform our logistics business processes. 

The FY13 sequestration cuts took away all program flexibility, deferred some buys, added risk to 

many programs while at the same time forced us to reallocate investment funds to more critical 

O&M needs. Budget projections for FY14 and beyond, along with the FY13 cuts, may force us 

to halt or slow pending development or productions milestones on 11 acquisition category 

(ACAT) 1 programs. Small scale program terminations began in FY13, and we will have to 

 

3

 There are $1.3 billion in FY14 funding reduction adjustments and $7.9 billion across the future years the Air Force 

has categorized as being reflective of a more disciplined use of resources. Program terminations and restructures are 

$2.4 billion of this total. Savings from better business practices and more effective use of operating resources total 

$3.2 billion across the future years. 
22 

consider expanding terminations in FY14. Similarly, several key modernization priorities 

remain unfunded given the current fiscal environment, including a replacement for the aging T38 trainer and the JSTARS surveillance aircraft. 

America’s Air Force remains the most capable in the world, but we cannot allow readiness levels 

to decline further and modernization cannot wait for the next cycle of increased defense 

spending. We have important production lines under way and development programs that are, or 

will soon be, mature enough for production. Cancelling programs in anticipation of a future 

generation of technology would be wasteful and, in some cases, risk the loss of critical 

engineering talent and technological advantage. New threats and corresponding investment 

needs are not theoretical possibilities for the future. They are here, now. The future success of 

the Nation’s military and the joint team depends on modernizing our Air Force and keeping it 

ready to fight. 

AIRMEN DEVELOPMENT

The Air Force’s strategic advantage begins with its ability to attract, recruit, develop, and retain 

innovative warriors with a commitment to high standards and our core values of Integrity First, 

Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do. To accommodate an uncertain and fiscally 

challenging future, we must continue to invest in our Airmen through education, professional 

development, and support programs for Airmen and their families, coupled with other programs 

to maintain a safe, respectful, and positive work environment. We are focusing on the 

recruitment, development, retention, and overall effectiveness of each individual Airman. 

Through this investment, we will not only improve the capability of today’s force, but also 

illustrate our commitment to future generations of Airmen to ensure a diverse and inclusive rich 

pool of the highest quality recruits well into the future. 

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response 

Providing a safe, respectful, and productive work environment is the responsibility of every 

Airman at every level, and we are working hard to achieve this. We do not tolerate sexual 

assault. In the last year, the Air Force redoubled its efforts to eradicate sexual assault within our 

ranks, and we have invested in several programmatic, educational, and resourcing efforts aimed 

at reinforcing a zero tolerance environment. When sexual assaults are alleged, we are providing 

improved support to victims. In coordination with OSD, the Air Force created a special victims 

capability comprised of specially trained investigators, prosecutors, paralegals, and victim and 

witness assistance personnel. A cadre of 24 special investigators has received special victim 

training, along with 16 senior trial counsel, nine of whom specialize in the prosecution of 

particularly difficult cases, including sexual assault cases. In addition, 60 Air Force attorneys 

have been identified and trained to serve as “special victims’ counsel” to provide comprehensive 

and compassionate representational legal assistance to victims. Special victims’ counselors 

currently represent over 200 sexual assault victims. The Air Force has also approved all 46 

expedited transfer requests for Air Force victims over the past year, to include both permanent 

change-of-station and local installation reassignments, and we continue to employ over 3,100 

volunteer victim advocates. In accordance with the FY12 National Defense Authorization Act 

(NDAA), each of these volunteer victim advocates will receive full certifications to provide 

confidential victim support beyond the training they already receive, and the Air Force is on 

track to place a full-time victim advocate at every installation by October 1, 2013. 
23 

Innovative, Global Airmen 

Globalization and the pace of technology advances are accelerating. Airmen work with 

advanced technology every day, and developing innovative and technically-savvy Airmen to 

continue to operate on the cutting edge is the lifeblood of our Service. The Air Force’s ability to 

leverage and field crucial technologies is dependent on America’s aerospace research and 

development infrastructure—a national asset that must be protected to ensure future U.S. 

advantages in technology, commercial aviation, and space. Accordingly, we are protecting 

science and technology funding as a share of our total resources. To ensure that Airmen increase 

their technical acumen, we are strategically managing our science, technology, engineering, and 

math (STEM) workforce and conducting outreach activities to recruit and train an adequate and 

diverse STEM talent pool to develop, operate, and maintain our technical advantage. While 

Airmen must remain technically proficient, we are most interested in whole person development 

– creating leaders of character who demonstrate creativity and empathy in addition to technical 

competency. 

Globalization also makes the development of a global community of Airmen a more achievable 

goal. Efforts to enhance the language and cultural skills of the force continue to lay the 

groundwork for access and coalition building activities that enable future cooperative efforts 

with friends and allies. Likewise, outreach through foreign professional military education 

programs where members of other nations attend Air Force programs, as well as personnel 

exchange programs, significantly increases the likelihood of current and future cooperative 

relationships. The combined effects of these personnel programs and relationship-building 

efforts help ensure that future leaders of friendly foreign air forces will continue to regard the 

U.S. Air Force as one of the finest air forces in the world. 

Airmen and Family Support 

The quality of Airmen and family support programs remains a critical element of the Air Force 

resilience program. Using a strength-based approach to the resilience program builds an 

improved ability to cope with stress and forms the basis for an approach for suicide prevention. 

Regardless of the fiscal environment, the Air Force must continue to address the Service’s 

evolving demographics and maintain balanced, healthy, and resilient Airmen and families. We 

will adjust, consolidate, or eliminate services where required to meet changing demands, 

capitalize upon community resources, and gain efficiencies where possible. 

To better support our Airmen and families, we continue to move forward with our “3 to 1 Total 

Force Personnel Management” initiative. This effort integrates personnel management policies, 

processes, and procedures across the Total Force to create a more efficient and effective Air 

Force. To the greatest extent possible, “3 to 1” will yield uniformity, enhance coordination 

across components, optimize war fighter support, and improve service levels for our Airmen. 

This effort will also eliminate cumbersome paper-based personnel workflows, standardize 

human resource management under common directives, and provide “one-stop shopping” for 

personnel support from anywhere, at any time. Finally, we expect this effort to ease Airmen 

transitions on and off active duty and across the three components, all of which are vital to our 

Air Force mission. 

Our Airmen continue to contribute significant capabilities in the joint arena and do so with the 

integrity and excellence expected of them. They remain committed to the Air Force mission and 
24 

our core values. It is imperative for us to apply sufficient resources coupled with well-informed 

personnel policies to support and maintain our high quality, all-volunteer force, retain their trust 

and confidence, and empower them to fly, fight, and win. 

Active/Reserve Component Balance

Today’s Total Force consists of about 329,500 Regular Air Force (or Active) Airmen, 105,700 

Air National Guardsmen, and 70,900 Air Force Reserve Airmen actively serving in the Selected 

Reserve, as authorized by the FY13 NDAA. For FY14, the total number of Airmen will 

decrease slightly to 327,600 Active Airmen, 105,400 Guardsmen, and 70,400 Reservists. In 

addition to these numbers, the Air Force Reserve maintains a strategic depth of more than 

790,000 stand-by or non-participating Reservists and retirees who can be called up for national 

emergencies. We are one Air Force—Regular Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force 

Reserve Airmen—working together as a Total Force team every day around the world. 

There is great interdependence between Active, Guard, and Reserve forces. We must ensure the 

right balance between them because too much force structure in the Active component does not 

capitalize on potential lower operational costs of personnel and installations in the Reserve 

component. Too little force structure in the Active component requires Guardsmen and 

Reservists to deploy more often—even in peacetime—which breaks the model of a part-time 

force, threatens the sustainability of the Total Force, and increases costs significantly. 

The analytical foundation used to develop Active and Reserve component force balance starts 

with the National Defense Strategy. The strategy is based on scenarios and associated concepts 

of operation and forces developed by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, 

the Joint Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Cost Assessment and Program 

Evaluation. These scenarios form the common starting point for all DoD force structure 

assessments and include major contingency demand (i.e., surge) as well as pre- and postcontingency rotational demand (non-surge and post-surge, respectively). Force demands, both 

surge and post-surge rotational, are compared to projected inventories to determine how much 

and what type of force structure is required. Capabilities and risk are balanced across the Air 

Force’s core missions to field the most capable and sustainable force within available resources. 

Analysis of Active and Reserve component force levels provides insights into the balance within 

this force that can most effectively and efficiently meet demand within DoD deployment goals. 

Maintaining the appropriate Active and Reserve component force mix is critical to the ability of 

the Air Force to meet forward presence requirements, maintain rapid response, and meet highrate rotational demands within a smaller force. Additionally, appropriate force mix is critical to 

the sustainment, readiness, and health of the Total Force components. Force mix decisions 

cannot be made based solely on cost. We must consider the symbiotic relationship of the Active 

and Reserve components and treat the three components as a complete system, evaluating the 

effects of change on all components to better understand unintended consequences to the whole. 

For example, Reserve forces depend on healthy Active component forces from which trained and 

experienced Airmen transition to part-time status. If the Active component force becomes too 

small, the flow of personnel into the Reserve component will slow, driving the Reserve 

components to increase direct-entry recruitment, causing experience levels to fall and costs to 

rise. Our analysis also will consider how the Reserve component leverages important civilian 

skills and experience, such as in cyber, for the needs of the Nation. Air Force leaders must have 
25 

the flexibility to reorganize force structure within the Active and Reserve components to 

maintain the health of the Total Force and its ability to ultimately execute the National Military 

Strategy. 

Total Force Initiatives 

To get a better understanding of our Total Force mixture, we launched the Total Force Task 

Force, a team led by three two-star general officers from the Regular Air Force, the Air National 

Guard, and the Air Force Reserve. The Total Force Task Force is leading a reassessment of the 

Air Force’s efforts to develop the appropriate Active and Reserve component balance through 

processes that enable the Department of the Air Force to leverage the inherent strengths, unique 

aspects, and characteristics of each component. The Total Force Task Force is conducting a 

comprehensive review of Total Force requirements and will develop strategic options to ensure 

that the Air Force balances the strengths of each component while sustaining necessary 

capabilities in the years ahead. The team is scheduled to present their findings by October 1, 

2013. We expect the task force to serve as a focal point for the National Commission on the 

Force Structure for the Air Force that was directed by Congress and is scheduled to provide a 

report to the President by February 1, 2014. 

Total Force Integration (TFI) works to shape the most capable force possible under fiscal and 

operational constraints for our current and future force. TFI associations are a cost-efficient 

value to the taxpayer as the Active and Reserve components share equipment and facilities. We 

are increasing the number of units that partner Active, Guard, or Reserve Airmen at a single 

location. We currently have 121 such unit associations and plan to add additional associations; 

however, implementation of the FY13 NDAA may affect the number of associations. Already a 

success story for mobility forces, we are planning for every U.S.-based Reserve fighter unit to 

become an association with the Regular Air Force within the FYDP, as will the continental 

United States locations for the KC-46 tanker. We will continue to refine this combination of 

Active and Reserve forces across all appropriate areas of the Total Force. 

Force structure changes require continual dialogue between the Active component, the Air Force 

Reserve, the Air National Guard, and the respective governors. Over the past year, we have 

worked with OSD, the National Guard Bureau, and the Council of Governors to formalize a 

consultative process to exchange views, information, and advice, consistent with the applicable 

guidelines on programming and budgetary priorities and requirements on matters specified in 

Executive Order 13528. Recently, DoD and the Council of Governors agreed to the “StateFederal Consultative Process for Programming and Budgetary Proposals Affecting the National 

Guard.” This process will, among other things, increase National Guard involvement in DoD’s 

planning, programming, budgeting, and execution processes and improve the dialogue between 

the Council of Governors and the DoD before resource decisions affecting the National Guard 

are made. It is essential that we manage the health of the Total Force holistically, and we are 

committed, now more than ever, to strengthen our integration of effort. 

Conclusion 

From airpower’s earliest days, Airmen have exploited technology to provide essential knowledge 

and information on when and where to act, to move people and materials when and where 

needed, to control the ultimate high ground, and to strike when and where directed. 
26 

We are confident in our Airmen. They are the best in the world, and we can rely on them to 

meet any challenge, overcome any obstacle, and defeat any enemy—as long as they are given 

adequate resources and the freedom to innovate. As they have time and again, our innovative 

Airmen will find new and better ways to approach future military challenges across the spectrum 

of conflict, throughout every domain, and against nascent and unpredicted threats. 

The Air Force’s core missions will continue to serve America’s long-term security interests by 

giving our Nation and its leadership unmatched options against the challenges of an 

unpredictable future. In the last several decades, Air Force airpower has been an indispensable 

element of deterrence, controlled escalation, and, when so tasked by the Nation’s leadership, 

been an instrument of destruction against an adversary’s military capability—all accomplished 

with minimal casualties to U.S. servicemen and women and civilians. However, investments in 

Air Force capabilities and readiness remain essential to ensuring that the Nation will maintain an 

agile, flexible, and ready force. This force must be deliberately planned and consistently funded, 

as reconstitution of a highly sophisticated and capable Air Force cannot occur quickly if allowed 

to atrophy. 

Today’s Air Force provides America an indispensable hedge against the challenges of a 

dangerous and uncertain future. Regardless of the future security environment, the Air Force 

must retain and maintain its unique ability to provide America with Global Vigilance, Global 

Reach, and Global Power. 

We are committed to excellence and we will deliver with your help. We ask that you support the 

Air Force budget request of $114.1 billion for FY14.