New Opportunities

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General Schwab, thank you for that introduction - it is great to be here today. This is a great forum for exchanging views, and interacting with each other.

The Air National Guard is a critical part of the Department of the Air Force, and your contributions to the Joint team are felt worldwide. As part of the Total Force, you support every combatant commander and Air Force core function, delivering the right capabilities to the right place at the right time. And following in the best traditions of American Airmen for over a century, you are "all in" for today's fight.

Without the willingness of our Citizen Airmen to do whatever is needed, the Air Force would not be able to achieve its goals - so thank you for all you do for our great country.

In fact, Guardsmen have been engaged since the very beginning of military aviation in America! I don't know how many folks are aware of this, but it was 98 years ago this month when the Signal Corps of the Missouri National Guard organized an air section to teach flight and ballooning - probably the first unit of its kind! Just over a year later, Lt. Col. Charles Winder of the Ohio National Guard qualified as a pilot - the first Guardsman to do so.

This tells me two things. First, it tells me that the National Guard has produced leaders of American airpower since day one. And second, it tells me that whether you are talking about the revolutionary militias or today's fight, the National Guard is filled with innovators who embrace new technology and ways of getting the job done.

By the way, General Schwab, I wanted to compliment the D.C. Air National Guard on a recent flight down to Pope Air Force Base, where we presented Staff Sgt. [Zachary] Rhyner with the Air Force Cross. It was a great ceremony, and I am glad that the Total Force was part of that historic occasion.

I was also reminded on the way over here that today is the anniversary of another historic occasion - it was exactly 10 years ago that the United States and its coalition partners initiated Operation Allied Force to put a stop to ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. The Air National Guard was right in the thick of that fight, responding to the nation's call for additional combat power, aerial refueling, airlift, special operations, intelligence analysis and other capabilities. Some Guardsmen arrived in theater in less than 72 hours - probably even a few of you sitting here.

Today, thousands of Guardsmen serve in Iraq and Afghanistan - and just like their Kosovo counterparts of 10 years ago, they are the "front lines" of advancing the ball for Total Force Integration. In fact, the current economic climate and tough budget decisions means that it is more critical than ever to drive effectiveness and efficiency into our Total Force, Joint and interagency partnerships. All of this means that we need to expand our integration initiatives to maximize capabilities across the spectrum of conflict - all the way from building partnerships, to irregular warfare and conventional operations, to strategic deterrence.

Our classic and active associations have been highly successful - and many more are in the pipeline. As we move forward with "TFI, Part II,"  we will build on the momentum of past efforts - and ideas from leaders will be the foundation for future progress! The coming months are exactly the right time to propose new and innovative ways of doing business.

Another area where we need your good ideas and focused leadership is ensuring the success of U.S. Northern Command - especially as responsibilities for Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities grow. Traditional functions such as air defense and disaster response are in high demand, and the need for specialized skills like imagery analysis and cyber defense is increasing. Your tremendous expertise and state-level relationships are especially important for homeland defense tasks.

Of course, interagency work is not new to the Air Force. But what is new is the need to be less stovepiped and to more closely integrate our capabilities with our interagency partners. This also gives us more opportunities to leverage interagency expertise to address some of our pressing Air Force challenges. As we do this work, we'll be building on the tremendous reputation that you have established through contributions to various Joint Interagency Task Forces.

Overseas, plans to reduce our combat presence in Iraq, increase our combat presence in Afghanistan and meet worldwide commitments means there will continue to be plenty of opportunities for Guardsmen to demonstrate America's strength and compassion. Your support ranges the gamut, from KC-135s deploying in support of Afghanistan operations to Coronet Oak taskings in support of U.S. Southern Command to CONUS-based missions across the states and territories.

As we go about this work, we are finding that the needs of our combatant commanders are changing - and across the Total Force, we need to keep up. So, there are several areas that I would commend as possible "growth areas" for your units. These are the same areas where we are applying additional manpower and institutional emphasis throughout the Total Force - and you are already engaged in many of them.

Reinvigorating the nuclear enterprise, for example, is our number one Air Force priority. Supporting strategic deterrence is an area that the Guard knows well from your days of flying KC-135s for Strategic Air Command - and as we stand up Global Strike Command, the opportunities for Total Force participation in nuclear deterrence operations and sustainment will continue to grow. Already, we are working to expand the Personnel Reliability Program to be more inclusive of the Reserve Component. And as we think through the end-to-end business of nuclear operations and sustainment, we are sure to find plenty of areas where the Total Force can contribute.

In theater, the demand for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and unmanned aerial systems is insatiable. From flying the vehicles to exploiting the data to managing the architecture's cyberspace backbone, you are already heavily engaged in this effort - and we will be drawing on your expertise even more as we grow to 50 combat air patrols in theater.

And as you know well, today's fight also places tremendous demands on our engineering professionals, such as your 87 PRIME BEEF and 8 RED HORSE squadrons - many of which are scheduled to deploy over the next two years. The combatant commanders have a growing need for experts who can contribute to stability operations, and we are looking across the Total Force to meet their requirements.

We are also rapidly expanding our efforts in cyberspace - a domain where the best practices of commercial industry often outpace the best practices of government - especially when it comes to training and developing cyberspace experts.

As we stand up 24th Air Force - our new cyber numbered air force - under Air Force Space Command, we will find ourselves drawing even more on the tremendous cyberspace expertise of our Citizen Airmen. Protecting our networks and systems is especially important given the growing amounts of commercial-off-the-shelf technology in DOD systems.

Likewise, our acquisition and contracting functions are perennial challenges for the Defense Department. This is another area where the Air Force could benefit from the civilian work experiences of our Citizen Airmen.

So as you can see, the demand is increasing for many missions with significant CONUS-based components. And since today's global information grid makes it easier than ever to move data instead of people and equipment, many of these missions seem particularly well-suited to the Reserve Component. These missions also represent opportunities for the Air Force to take advantage of your civilian expertise to solve some of the complex problem sets of our Joint commanders.

Balancing expectations is going to be crucial as we balance roles and missions across the Total Force to gain effectiveness and efficiencies. We need for leaders like you to help us further examine opportunities associated with fixed locations, particularly those that involve minimal or no requirements for deployment, as well as missions that require augmentation during 24/7 surge operations.

We also need for leaders like you to help us leverage your geographic resources, equipment and workforce to enhance mission opportunities close to home.

And before I get off the subject, I also want to be clear that "TFI, Part II" is not just about effectiveness - it's also about efficiency.

In many ways, today's Reserve component is performing two functions. On one hand, you're an operational force that helps produce the higher "steady state" of military capabilities that today's fight requires. We couldn't do it without you. On the other hand, you're the strategic reserve - and we depend on you to be able to fill "surge" needs for defined chunks of time - whether it's a few weeks, few months, or longer. That's where efficiency comes in - it's a lot more efficient to have the capacity to surge when and where needed than to enlarge the full-time force. So we've got to build that consideration into our way forward with TFI.

Of course, just as important to our success as a Total Force is the "people" side of our business. After all, as commanders and key senior staff, you are responsible for the Air Force's most precious asset - our Airmen, civilians and their families! Without them, units and equipment grind to a halt. And as Guardsmen, you also manage the added dimension of employer support.

To help our service members, families and employers align their expectations; we need to drive as much predictability as possible into deployments. We also need to open lines of communication between the Air Force and civilian employers, fostering an understanding about the requirements that both place on our Airmen. Improving continuum of service programs is also critical - that way, our Airmen and their families can focus more clearly on the task at hand. Again, these are areas where your expertise is critical - we need your good ideas about how we can improve our programs to reduce strain on ANG families.

From missions to teamwork to people, I have covered a lot of territory today - and I'd like to leave plenty of time for you to ask some questions. So I will close by saying that General Schwartz and I are absolutely committed to delivering world-class air, space and cyber power in the most effective and efficient manner possible. As an institution, the Air Force is revamping expectations and discovering new ways of doing business. We are committed to effective partnerships and good teamwork - all of which require good ideas, focused leadership and a collective commitment to a common Air Force vision - one that transcends component or status. The Air National Guard brings unique strengths to advancing this vision, and I am tremendously grateful that you are part of the Air Force team.