Air Force undersecretary lauds deployed Airmen, addresses force management

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mike Hammond
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton discussed the importance of regional partners, professionalism of Airmen and the service officials' ongoing efforts to maintain manning within congressionally authorized limits during a visit Feb. 8 through 9.

Ms. Conaton's visit marked her first here as Air Force undersecretary. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Philip Breedlove accompanied her on the trip, also his first in his role as the service's vice chief.

Ms. Conaton acknowledged the competence, professionalism and pride of deployed Airmen she witnessed during her visit and noted the strategic importance of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing in today's fight.

"When one considers the awesome coalition air-power capability and effectiveness that emanates from this location, it is truly impressive and inspiring," Ms. Conaton said.

The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is the world's largest air expeditionary wing. Thousands of Airmen -- plus joint and coalition partners -- fly 30 percent of the daily air tasking order sorties in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The 379th AEW is one of the top three installations providing aerial port movements and handles more jet fuel than the next top five Air Force bases combined.

Key to such an operation is the vital support from host nation partners, Ms. Conaton said.

"The Air Force has always valued strong relationships with our international partners," she said. "These partnerships serve to dissuade our adversaries, ensure access to critical locations, and enable us to operate alongside one another in a coalition when necessary."

In addition to joint and coalition mission partners, thousands of Airmen here serve far from home as part of what Ms. Conaton described as an incredible joint and coalition airpower team.

She also addressed recently announced force-management initiatives to continue balancing the size of the Air Force, pointing out that these are difficult, but necessary, moves.

"Our Air Force is now at a 16-year high in retention at a time when we already exceed authorized personnel strength levels," Ms. Conaton said. "Through the force management actions we took last year, we met our enlisted goal in FY 2010; however, we remain approximately 2,300 officers above our authorized ceiling.

"It is for this reason that senior Air Force leadership made the difficult, but fiscally responsible, decision to continue force management measures and balance the desire of Airmen wanting to serve with the need to operate within the service's congressionally authorized end strength ceiling," she said.

"We know this decision will cause the Air Force to lose high-quality Airmen," she said. "This will not be easy, and Air Force leadership did not take this decision lightly. But if we do not operate within our means, we will be forced to assume greater risk in mission areas due to insufficient funding and Air Force Specialty Code imbalances."

Ms. Conaton said the force management program is not a quick fix; rather, it is a tailored, multi-year effort comprising many programs aimed at managing the force.

"We are analyzing each career field individually, will carefully control accessions and apply voluntary and involuntary initiatives to optimize each career field's 30-year outlook," Ms. Conaton said.

Additional information regarding the Air Force's force management program is available on the Air Force Personnel Center website at www.afpc.randolph.af.mil.