The commander of Air Combat Command recently took the opportunity to impress upon a group of nearly 300 Houston civic leaders just how important these issues are in ensuring a dominant Air Force into the 21st century. Gen. Dick Hawley, ACC commander, captivated members of the Houston Forum whose previous speakers have included retired Gen. Colin Powell and former president George Bush. Saying perspective does matter, Hawley talked about how the American people can ill afford to neglect the needs of the armed forces if they want to keep America secure. A decade of unprecedented prosperity for our nation, a decade which we could have afforded to be much better stewards of these institutions that have served our nation so well through so many crises. Hawley spoke of three things he believes are needed to sustain the world class military the United States built during the 80s, and upon which the nation has come to rely upon so heavily in the 90s.
People really are our most important warfighting element.
Next is world class weapons systems. Finally, we need a national security strategy that is consistent with the size and the quality of the forces we field to help implement that strategy. Today's strategy is global engagement, it's stretching that balance between the forces available to commanders and the work they have to do. To back up his points, Hawley told the group how the current operations tempo is wearing people out and affecting the Air Force's ability to retain its quality people. The general also touched on the need to improve retirement benefits, educational programs and pay raises.