4/9/2013 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFNS) -- Air Force officials will begin to stand down active-duty combat units starting April 9 to ensure the remaining units supporting worldwide operations can maintain sufficient readiness through the remainder of the fiscal year.
The stand down is the result of cuts to Air Combat Command's operations and maintenance account, which must be implemented in part by flying approximately 45,000 fewer training hours between now and Oct 1.
As the Air Force's lead for Combat Air Forces, ACC manages the flying-hour programs for four major commands. This decision to stand down or curtail operations affects about one-third of the active-duty CAF aircraft -- including those assigned to fighter, bomber, aggressor and airborne warning and control squadrons -- stationed in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific.
"We must implement a tiered readiness concept where only the units preparing to deploy in support of major operations like Afghanistan are fully mission capable," said Gen. Mike Hostage, the ACC commander. "Units will stand down on a rotating basis so our limited resources can be focused on fulfilling critical missions."
"Historically, the Air Force has not operated under a tiered readiness construct because of the need to respond to any crisis within a matter of hours or days," Hostage said. "The current situation means we're accepting the risk that combat airpower may not be ready to respond immediately to new contingencies as they occur."
Some units currently deployed -- including A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, B-1 Lancers, F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-22 Raptors -- will stand down after they return from their deployments. The remaining units will stand down operations on April 9. Active-duty aircrews assigned to Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard A-10 or F-16 squadrons under an arrangement known as "active associations" will also stop flying.
The stand down will remain in effect for the remainder of fiscal 2013 barring any changes to current levels of funding.
"We're entering uncharted territory in terms of how we've had to take this year's cuts and make adjustments to mitigate the most serious impacts," Hostage said. "Remaining as mission-ready as possible for combatant commanders is our priority, and we're prioritizing spending to ensure this imperative is met."
Units that are stood down will shift their emphasis to ground training. They will use flight simulators to the extent possible within existing contracts, and conduct academic training to maintain basic skills and knowledge of their aircraft. As funding allows, aircrews will also complete formal ground training courses, conduct non-flying exercises and improve local flying-related programs and guidance.
Maintainers will complete upgrade training and clear up backlogs of scheduled inspections and maintenance as possible given budget impacts in other areas, such as stock of spare parts.
Although each weapon system is unique, on average aircrews lose currency to fly combat missions within 90 to 120 days of not flying. It generally takes 60 to 90 days to conduct the training needed to return aircrews to mission-ready status, and the time and cost associated with that retraining increases the longer that crews stay on the ground.
"This will have a significant and multiyear impact on our operational readiness," Hostage said. "But right now, there is no other acceptable way to implement these cuts."
(Information courtesy of Air Combat Command Public Affairs)
Comments
4/12/2013 2:46:08 PM ET SWOK. Before you say that the bands are irrelevant I think you may want to look at what they do and have done. First and foremost the band honors those who have served. Additionally they inspire patriotism and service and have a positive impact on the global community. They are ambassadors on the stage of international relations that inspire lasting and positive impressions on a global scale. Music transcends culture more effectively and at a lower cost than bombs on target. Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast so soften rocks or bend a knotted oak William Gongreve from the Mourning Bride Act 1 Sc 1.
SNCO Ret, Scott
4/12/2013 6:43:02 AM ET Makes sense...stand down our units but give more F16s to Egypt...
D. Scot Northcutt Ret MSgt, Yokota AB
4/11/2013 4:29:38 PM ET Finally with all those pesky sorties out of the way units can do all the things that the Air Force really cares about.
whatshisface, east coast
4/11/2013 3:51:26 PM ET DATX how about before I do my homework on the AF budget I worked for 10 years you read my entire comment instead of picking out a few words and twisting them to make an invalid point with made up statistics. I know exactly what can be cut without impacting mission readiness and there is a lot if they didn't have misplaced priorities. I never said the band wouldn't be cut I said you would never see it. It's not newsworthy because nobody cares except for band members and Generals and a visible cut to the band would make the public happy. Also there is more than just the budget you see on paper under the band line it's the air transportation and fuel logistics etc that is not charged directly to the band. I do know the band mission and they are 90 percent irrelevant to the military these days.
SW, OK
4/11/2013 10:31:54 AM ET Excuse me Sgt Whoever but just where is Tops In Blue performing
SNCO Ret, Scott
4/11/2013 9:51:49 AM ET @navyforever while sensorship may be navy slang for a ship equipped with electronic sensors the correct forms of the words you were trying to use are censorship and censored.
Joe, wild blue
4/11/2013 8:25:52 AM ET @Lt Col J the reason that story is above this one is strictly based on when the story was published. New stories go to the top.
JT, SC
4/11/2013 8:05:58 AM ET Seeing as my last comment posted was removed by the admins I must ask what is wrong with questioning the motives of our civilian leadership What was stated or asked that warrented this blantant censorship For those who did not have the oppourtunity to read and engage or would like to read just how I engaged or dare I say challenged our civilian leaders here it is.If I don't do my job as an Aircraft Maintainer I don't eat lunch I don't go home on time I don't get weekends or holidays and eventually I don't have a job and don't get paid. But congress who has failed to prevent this still does. So I ask why are my guys and I as E-1 thru E-6's held to a higher standard than our civilian leadershipIt is not that I do not cheerish the oppourtunity to serve my nation. It is that congress seems to consider themselves and their needs higher than the needs of the nation. It is a privilage to serve as a representiative of the people of the USA. Take the money out of congress
gabe, USA
4/11/2013 7:40:37 AM ET NEGATIVE COMMENT. NOIISSE
Brick Tamland, San Diego
4/11/2013 2:11:54 AM ET This story was posted right below AF Restarts Tuition Assistance - sadly our prioties are not in order and an example of the its all about me and my benefits attitudes. Understand TA are a drop in the bucket compared to flying hours but the TA dollars now being spent will be cut from something else.
Lt Col J, Parts unknown
4/11/2013 1:12:27 AM ET At least we have TA reinstated right Now the maintainers and aircrew can sit in class rather than maintain a state of readiness like the government pays them to do. I'm pretty sure the oath was to support and defend not sit in class and earn a degree. The TA cuts would've only been temporary. Even if it was only brought back at 75 percent that's more than 99 percent of civilian employers give anyway. I agree with everyone that says cut international aid end the quagmire in Afghanistan etc... but c'mon let's get our priorities straight
Deployed at BAF, Trashcanistan
4/10/2013 10:14:38 PM ET Never thought I would see this day and my heart breaks. Maybe maintainers can clear up all their DD's with the spare time they will have due to a slow down in training. This Is the change for all who voted the current admin in.
Retired MSgt, oklahoma
4/10/2013 4:38:52 PM ET To SWOK. Do some homework. AF Band have been cut and not just because of sequester. Also AF Band budgets are .0085 percent of the entire AF budget including personnel costs. It's unfortunate that you don't understand the mission of AF Bands and what they can bring to the fight.
DA, TX
4/10/2013 1:53:03 PM ET I think it is the Normal Sensorship of Goverment. Try and post something and or protect something and then you are Sensored.
navyforever, yorktown
4/10/2013 1:07:11 PM ET You won't see cuts to programs like TIB or AF Band because it would be a sensible cut and that either doesn't make news or would tell people they can absorb the budget reductions without an impact to operations. The strategy is not to make sensible cuts but to make extreme cuts to programs that the public will notice and get the word out so they will call their reps and senators. All part of the make it hurt campaign.
SW, OK
4/10/2013 12:20:15 PM ET Good. We're supposed to be pulling out of trashcanistan not sending people to it anymore. Hopefully this will cripple this stupid imperialist nation's ability to propogate unwinnable quagmires in countries that don't even want our help.
DisgustedWithAF, Europe
4/10/2013 11:52:13 AM ET Let's not all forget what's important. Our pilots will forget how to fly safely but at least we will all continue PT testing twice a year pulling Airman from work centers whose civilians will be at home looking for a new job. Just think of all the money that could be saved in hospital visits civilian FAC supervision etc... by returning all testing to once a year. Oh wait we can have our pilots conduct PT testing since they won't be flying any more.
MSgt, JBSA
4/10/2013 10:44:53 AM ET Keep voting democrat kiddies
Jay SMSgt ret, DC
4/10/2013 10:40:50 AM ET FYI go to www.topsinblue.com the following is posted thereDue to sequestration budget cuts to the military the 60th Anniversary tour has been postponed. Air Force Entertainment will begin to build the show on 1 Oct and start touring late November.
RC, GA
4/10/2013 10:30:12 AM ET Training More like waste of money flying around in circles all day. Put them in simulations instead of burning millions of dollars a minute on jet fuel.I served in the military and over half of the time its a joke full of busy work. Cut our military in half and stop playing world police. We need to take care of our country first
Brian, New York
4/10/2013 9:41:48 AM ET Can anyone substantiate this claim Primary sources only please. No anecdotal evidence will be considered.Cessna 152 is a durable little aircraft that has a reputation for killing MIGs over the jungle in Vietnam.
KR, SC
4/10/2013 9:40:40 AM ET Tops in Blue has canceled their tour see AF Times for the story
Sequestered, US
4/10/2013 8:50:48 AM ET The Stand Down is a bad idea in my opinion. Lets start by cutting the payments we are sending to foreign countries stop giving aide to countries who hate us and start cutting the politicians paychecks until they pass a budget worthy of the cause that we soldiers call AMERICA
chad, grand forks
4/10/2013 8:49:53 AM ET Retired MSgt you've summed up what worries me about our society these days--you sound like you know what you're talking about but you're missing some very key points. The DoD is NOT operating under last year's non-budget we have been forced to cut. And sure the chiefs would LOVE to cut waste. But as you know they are forced cuts across the board. They are not ALLOWED to cherry-pick what they can cut. O and M budget gets its cuts just like the rest of the colors of money. Such is life when the non-decision-making leaders of our country cannot figure out how to compromise.
D, ND
4/10/2013 8:46:39 AM ET Finally
Snuffy, USA
4/10/2013 8:12:44 AM ET Editor's note: This comment was rejected due to incompliance with our comment rules. Please review the comment rules, which can be found just above the comment submission form.
NAVYFOREVER, Yorktown Va
4/10/2013 8:03:18 AM ET Cessna 152 is less expensive and less technologically advanced but flight time is flight time. Cessna 152 is a durable little aircraft that has a reputation for killing MIGs over the jungle in Vietnam. I know that our military needs to start cutting cost not quality. The U.S. military has to be smarter and more frugal with their money. The U.S. military has to use simple but basic training like what was done during the Second World War. Do more with less money.
Dan, Canton OH
4/10/2013 7:44:52 AM ET Too bad there is not article about Tops in Blue standing down. It would generate lots of positive comments.
Sgt Whoever, grounded
4/10/2013 7:14:48 AM ET hey great idea N.Korea is acting up but lets close some bases that support the air mission. Super smart on the gonernments part. Good luck to all those that are in this stand down.
puddin, pope afb
4/10/2013 6:23:05 AM ET Have fun with that ACC Hope we see some of that money on the maintenance side over here
Chuck, PACAF
4/10/2013 2:04:08 AM ET I guess this is the Hope and Change people voted for
Nate, K-Town
4/10/2013 12:15:40 AM ET I'm sorry for the blunt questions but an obvious one would have to be if the USAF will truly be able to afford a significantly increased Tactical aviation Procurement budget for F-35 starting in FY15 and then further increased Procurement budgets thereafter through the remainder of the decadeAnd if F-16s and A-10s are entering into a newly uncharted territory of being too costly to operate and train how will F-35s be funded for operations if they will cost more per flight hrGod speed.
Geoff Koh, California
4/9/2013 9:34:05 PM ET I remeber the crisis back in the day. If I remeber SAC did it with things like hot turns cold seat swaps to name a few. Or maybe just maybe rethink CRT requirements and adapt to the times. Much prefered over this doom and gloom.
W. Tell, Texas
4/9/2013 9:24:27 PM ET Nothing worse than an aircraft sitting on the ground. Seems this country won't cut a dime for social programs but let everything else go down in flames. Yet we will still outspend what was spent last year even with this sequestration. This is a horrible position to be in for us as a nation. What message are we telling the world specifically to IRAN N. KOREA and other countries wishing to test our readiness.
Gary , New Mexico
4/9/2013 7:30:56 PM ET It is amazing how even the military is politicizing the budget mess. There has been NO budget cuts. You can't cut a budget that doesn't exist. The sequester only reduced planned spending by 5 percent a total of 84 billion for the entire government. About half comes from DoD. Congress approved a 734 Billion dollar NDAA and I would think the DoD could find 44 billion worth of waste they could cut instead of playing games with the politicians. Enough already our troops go through enough without some moron with a star or stars on their shoulders making stupid decisions that hurt the troops and their families.
Ret MSgt, New Hampshire
4/9/2013 7:15:46 PM ET @Dan Roberts Standing down is entirely appropriate as the units stood down are not just flying less but not flying at all.
Pilot, FL
4/9/2013 6:34:43 PM ET Sounds like a political message from the brass to me. They decided to take there marbles and go home. Instead of making meaningful cuts the brass is going to do an I told you so when or if we need those units We need less generals.
Adam, America
4/9/2013 5:25:10 PM ET Now that the AF is standing down all these aircraft. There is time for flight line maintainers to clean up some Delayed Discrepancies get programs up to speed or maybe even a lunch break or cut back. But most likely the NONERS in the AF will take this time off for more unnecessary training...
AF Retiree, Oklahoma
4/9/2013 5:09:47 PM ET @Dan Roberts perhaps you need to expand your vocabulary. Stand down is a very common military term that means a relaxation from readiness or alert. It has been in use for ages and is defined in most dictionaries.
Kanga, US
4/9/2013 4:53:49 PM ET Dan the term stand down is used because roughly a third of Air Force combat units will no longer be flying at all.
PB, US
4/9/2013 4:17:12 PM ET Mr. RobertsMerriam-Webster defines stand down asA relaxation of status of a military unit or force from an alert or operational posture. First Known Use of STAND-DOWN circa 1919.So stand down is anything but a non-sensical term...and makes perfect sense to describe what ACC is doing.Additionally non-sensical is not hyphenated...it's spelled nonsensical.
TE, Nellis
4/9/2013 4:04:20 PM ET It would be nice if all of Washington would STAND DOWN
Larry B, California
4/9/2013 3:59:22 PM ET ReallyBudget cuts. What cuts Seems to me that the Obama admistration is spending like there is no tomorrow. Also why tell our enimies that we are reducing training and the such. Why have we become a nation that has to put everything in the news so that all those who hate us know what is going on.
Chris K, Ohio
4/9/2013 3:33:47 PM ET Why do we continually give our enemies information about our combat readiness This story and others about our current capabilities are a direct violation of OPSEC for 20 years I was told not to gossip about when people go on leavedeploy and now we have Air Force news publishing our combat readiness...just to make a highlight about sequestration. I guess they are following the CINC's lead when he tells our enemies when we'll be leaving Afghanistan. Shame on AF News and the CINC...SHAME
Thankfully Retired, USAFA
4/9/2013 3:23:35 PM ET You mean we won't be wasting fuel flying around in circles any more wearing out our places so when they actually do see combat they crash What has the world come to
Carlos, UK
4/9/2013 3:08:15 PM ET Wow. Hopefully we can still gainfully employ people without creating busy work. Also looks like those maintainers will be able to actually have organized PT like most of the base. Good luck to those affected ACC units.
Me, Texas
4/9/2013 2:57:09 PM ET Stand Down What kind of non-sensical term is that It may sound cool and military like but it makes no sense at all. Come up with a better term. How about instead of standing down you just say units are flying less. Gets the point across without being overly dramatic.
