New legislation facilitates Total Force

  • Published
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  When President George W. Bush signed the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act into law Oct. 17, important clarifications were made regarding Title 10 and 32, the laws governing the legal distinctions between the armed forces of the United States and the armed forces of the National Guard and Reserve.

With the president's authorization of the proposed amendments to Title 10 and Title 32, he removed some of the critical roadblocks to the Air Force's organizational construct of integrating active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve component assets to produce a smaller, more capable and more affordable Total Force.

"The reality of the post-9/11 21st century has presented the Air Force with a situation where mission requirements have increased in support of overseas engagements and homeland defense responsibilities," said Capt. Michaela Eggers, Total Force Integration Advocacy public affairs officer at the Pentagon. "The capabilities represented in the active force, ANG and AFRC as a whole need to be maximized to meet the requirements put forth by the combatant commanders."

The Air Force is transforming its fighting force in an effort to guarantee that it will continue to dominate air, space and cyberspace now and into the future. The result will be a fighting force with fewer assets than it presently possesses, requiring the Total Force components to work more closely to utilize their combined skills on a smaller number of platforms.

"The Air Force has many ageing weapons systems that have hit the end of their service life," said Brig. Gen. Allison Hickey, director of Total Force Integration. "The Air Force requires new systems to take the place of these older platforms in order to maintain the edge in air, space, and cyber space."

Presently there are separate chains of command for all three component members that present a challenge in creating a properly organized and integrated Total Force utilizing all of the experience and resources at hand. In peacetime, the Guard is commanded by the governor of each state and is provided for by the Congress under Title 32 United States Code with funds to conduct training, acquire and maintain equipment.

"During time of war or national emergency, these forces can be activated under Title 10 where they are under the authority of the secretary of the Air Force," said Captain Eggers.

Legislation in the 2007 NDAA permits the Guard and Reserve to train all components, foreign military, Department of Defence contractors, and DOD civilians as long as it doesn't interfere with their primary duties. All said, the legislation allows active, Guard, and Reserve Airmen to support operations or missions that are to be performed by a joint forces unit.

An example of this legislation is represented by the new C-5 Galaxy formal training unit complex at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Three servicemen from the ANG and active duty components became the first official group to be trained by Air Force Reserve Command instructors Oct. 20.

It was the first time an Air Force major command unit trained aircrews from all of the Air Force components. By the final quarter of fiscal year 2007, all C-5 aircrew students will receive their ground and air training from the Air Force Reserve Command's 433rd Airlift Wing. This is an example of how Total Force integration can use these new advantages provided by the passage of this legislation to create a stronger Total Force concept between the active duty, Guard and Reserve components.

"Warfare is changing and the Air Force must ensure that it is structured to meet the emerging threats of the future," said Captain Eggers. "As new technologies, greater efficiencies and increased Total Force leverage are created, the way we do business must also be re-evaluated."

Throughout the Total Force evolution, the Air Force will continue to care for its Airmen, focus on winning the War on Terror, and recapitalize and modernize to ensure that it remains capable of meeting emerging threats and maintains air, space, and cyberspace superiority, Captain Eggers said.

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