Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III attended the Senate Armed Services Committee on Department of Defense proposals relating to military compensation May 6, 2014, in Washington, D.C.  He was joined by the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Frank J. Grass.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp)140506-D-HU462-514
                        
                        
                        Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III attended the Senate Armed Services Committee on Department of Defense proposals relating to military compensation May 6, 2014, in Washington, D.C.  He was joined by the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Frank J. Grass.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        The 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Frank J. Grass for testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Department of Defense proposals relating to military compensation May 6, 2014, in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp)140506-D-HU462-129
                        
                        
                        The 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, and Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Frank J. Grass for testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Department of Defense proposals relating to military compensation May 6, 2014, in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

CSAF describes Air Force’s ‘precarious’ positionPublished May 6, 2014
                    
                    By Claudette Roulo
                    
                    
                    American Forces Press Service
            **WASHINGTON (AFNS) --**After 23 years of high-tempo operations, the Air Force is in a precarious position, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III told the Senate Armed Services Committee May 6.The general was joined in his testimony by his fellow members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the Joint Chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, and the vice chairman, Navy Adm. James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld Jr.Airmen have performed spectacularly well over a period that included numerous routine deployments and contingency responses, Welsh said.“I believe they've earned every penny they've made,” the general added. But per-capita costs for Airmen have grown more than 40 percent since 2000, he noted.“Last year, our readiness levels reached an all-time low,” Welsh said. “As we struggle to recover, we don't have enough units ready to respond immediately to a major contingency, and we're not always able to provide fully mission-ready units to meet our combatant commanders' routine rotational requirements.”The Air Force’s modernization forecasts also are bleak, the general said. About 20 percent of its aircraft flying today were built in the 1950s and 1960s, he noted, and more than half of the rest are 25 years old or older.“And now, due to sequestration, we've cut about 50 percent of our currently planned modernization programs,” Welsh said.The fiscal situation has forced the Air Force into some very difficult decisions, the general said, particularly in the area of pay and compensation reform.“No one takes this lightly,” he said, “but we feel it's necessary to at least try and create some savings.”Without these tough calls, the Air Force “will be neither ready to fight today, nor viable against the threats of tomorrow,” Welsh said.Slowing the rate of pay increases, gradually reducing housing pay, reforming the TRICARE health care plan and reducing commissary subsidies will certainly hurt, the general said. But, he added, “what my secretary and I owe the nation, the joint team and our Airmen, more than anything else, are the training and tools necessary to fight and win and survive.”If Congress fails to pass the proposed compensation reforms, the Air Force will be forced to cut $8.1 billion from readiness, modernization and infrastructure accounts over the next five years, Welsh said.“We'll take significant cuts to flying hours and weapons system sustainment accounts, reduce precision munitions buys, and lower funding for training ranges, digging our readiness hole even deeper,” the general said.“We'll likely have to cancel or delay several critical recapitalization programs,” he continued. “Among those probably impacted would be the combat rescue helicopter and the TX trainer. Abandoning the TX program would mean that future pilots will then continue to train in the 50-year-old T-38. We'll also be forced to cut spending on infrastructure beyond the $5 billion we've already recommended to cut over (the next five years).”These cuts would come in addition to the recommendations the Air Force already made, Welsh emphasized, including decreasing its force strength by nearly 17,000 Airmen next year, divesting the entire A-10 Thunderbolt II and U-2 reconnaissance aircraft fleets and possibly divesting the KC-10 Extender fleet.“None of these options are good ones, but we are simply out of good options,” he said. “It's time for courageous leadership. We simply can't continue to defer every tough decision in the near term, at the expense of military readiness and capability over time.”Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey 



CSAF 



budget 



Joint Chiefs chairman

Related Links
        GENERAL MARK A. WELSH III
                                June 18, 2015
                                Gen. Mark A. Welsh III is Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. As Chief, he serves as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of 660,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil