Guard, Reserve leaders address Senate subcommittee

  • Published
  • By Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Reserve component leaders from the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps met before a Senate subcommittee reviewing the fiscal 2005 military budget here April 7.

The leaders discussed transformation goals and spending requirements. They also touched on issues such as deployments, stress on the force and the war on terrorism before the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee.

Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III, chief of Air Force Reserve, addressed modernization efforts of several aircraft. He said the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war on terrorism has meant that one in three Air Force reservists has been mobilized during that time. He said that such reliance has meant a change in how the Reserve uses its forces.

"Like our active-duty partners, the men and women of the Air Force Reserve are very busy," the general said.

During fiscal 2003, Air Force Reserve Command Airmen made major air and space expeditionary force contributions and still met practically all aviation and support commitments, including deploying more than 23,350 reservists, he said.

"The challenge for (fiscal) 2004 will be to meet the continued AEF demands of the global war on terrorism primarily with volunteers if the number of mobilized personnel decreases," General Sherrard said.

Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, director of the Air National Guard, highlighted his service's accomplishment in the war on terrorism. He said more than 36,000 air guardsmen were mobilized since Sept. 11, 2001, and that one-third of the Air Force aircraft in Operation Iraqi Freedom have been from the Guard.

"We flew 100 percent of the Operation Enduring Freedom A-10 [Thunderbolt II] missions and 66 percent of the Iraqi Freedom A-10 tasking," he said. "The A-10s flew more combat missions in the Iraqi war than any other weapon system."

Future needs will rely heavily on technological advances in space, command and control, intelligence and reconnaissance systems, information warfare and unmanned aerial vehicles, General James said. Air Guard officials are also looking at the ability to conduct high-volume and highly accurate attacks with significantly fewer types of aircraft, he said.

For the Guard to remain part of the total force, "it has to expand its capabilities as joint warfighters and make the changes to integrate seamlessly into the joint-warfighting force," he said.

"Now is the time for us to lead the way by considering, selecting and implementing new concepts and missions that leverage our unique strengths to improve total force capabilities in support of expeditionary roles and defense of the homeland," he said. "This can only be accomplished by involving all Air National Guard stakeholders."

The guardsmen will continue to defend the nation in the war on terrorism while transforming for the future, General James said.

"We will do this across the full spectrum of operations in both the expeditionary and homeland defense missions," he said. "The men and women of the Air Guard are currently serving proudly in the far corners of the globe -- and here at home -- and will do so … to protect our freedoms."