In
1967, Air Force mobility wings began fielding Reserve associate
units. Many long-range airlift and refueling wings now have one.
These units—Reserve elements embedded within active units—use
the same aircraft and fly the same missions as their active duty
cohorts.
In the mid-1990s, USAF conducted an F-16 Reserve associate test
program at Shaw AFB, S.C. In the early 2000s, it created a “blended”
active-Air National Guard Joint STARS wing at Robins AFB, Ga.
ANG and AFRC units that deployed overseas were integrated with
active units. The “integration” idea, however, did not
exactly catch fire at home. Most active, Guard, and Reserve units
continued to organize and train more or less as they always had.
That was then. Today, the Air Force is poised to take a new and
dramatic step. It is prepared to fully integrate active, Guard,
and Reserve personnel formally, across the board, in peacetime as
well as during operations, at home as well as overseas.
This is the objective of the Future Total Force plan, major elements
of which were unveiled Dec. 1. The service said it was embarked
on six actions to help reshape the way it trains, equips, and employs
active, Guard, and Reserve members.
The move is vital because USAF faces both growing modernization
needs and budget shortfalls. FTF, said Air Force leaders, can be
used to increase combat power for less cost. Lt. Gen. Stephen G.
Wood, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, said it will
squeeze maximum use from aircraft, reduce redundancies, and end
outdated operations.
Thus, broad and deep integration would help USAF get through the
budget crisis that is about to hit.
The Air Force sees three compelling reasons for the changes:
First, integration will permit USAF to smooth the work tempo of
its personnel and fully man its aircraft—a force multiplier
that does not generate expensive overhead costs.
Second, integration would bring out strengths of each component.
Guard and Reserve members are few but experienced. Young active
duty members would benefit from association with seasoned airmen.
Third, integration will help USAF stabilize and expand its “brainpower”
fund. With expanded duties, ANG and AFRC will be able to absorb
experienced airmen leaving active service.
The magnitude of the coming change is amply demonstrated by the
sweep of the six new FTF proposals:
The Virginia ANG’s 192nd Fighter Wing will team with the
1st FW, Langley AFB, Va., to fly the F/A-22 Raptor—marking
the first time the Air National Guard has helped bring on a new
fighter system. Experienced ANG pilots are to help squeeze maximum
combat power from the Raptor.
USAF will move some active enlisted personnel to the Vermont
ANG’s 158th FW. The expectation is that relatively green
actives will quickly learn technical skills from experienced Guardsmen.
The test will be used to aid future transfers of active airmen.
Two F-16 outfits—the Reserve 419th FW and active duty 388th
FW—reside at Hill AFB, Utah. USAF will blend them in an “integrated
fighter associate unit,” using Reservists to support the
388th’s missions.
Texas and Arizona ANGs will acquire new squadrons of Predator
unmanned aerial vehicles. Home-based operators will fly the UAVs
around the world, using reachback technologies, but will train
in their states, where there is good weather and empty skies.
ANG and AFRC forces will team with the Army and Army National
Guard in the operation of a global intelligence ground station
in western New York. This project will pave the way for use of
Air Reserve Component forces in reachback missions.
The Air Warfare Center at Nellis AFB, Nev., suffers from high
optempo, heavy training loads, and low experience levels. The
Air Force will push Reserves into all AWC mission areas to alleviate
the problems.
These steps no doubt are harbingers of things to come. As one officer
noted, “I don’t think there’s much chance that these
things are going to fail.”
Moreover, said Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, director of the Air National
Guard, FTF will help the reserve components move into “new,
relevant missions”—intelligence, space, command and control,
UAVs, and cyber-warfare.
The world of the reservist is changing, and not everybody is cheering.
Some preferred the old, slower-paced ways. Others fear that Guardsmen
and Reservists will be shunted into homeland defense duties and
other missions with little martial flavor, or that the reserve components
will lose their distinct “cultural identities.”
Others worry that FTF portends a major reduction in traditional
flying forces. That is a special concern to ANG, which is loaded
with F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter units.
Still, it seems clear that the service has little choice but to
press on. The Air Force has a huge set of modernization needs, but
it is becoming painfully obvious that sufficient funding won’t
be forthcoming. Efficiencies are needed, and FTF promises to deliver
them.
Moreover, with the services facing a new round of base realignment
and closure—BRAC—this year, the FTF concept would allow
the Air Force to make better use of infrastructure and maximize
the return on its investment in new weapons.
Critics often accuse the services of clinging to hidebound practices
and refusing to break institutional crockery. The FTF certainly
undercuts that claim. At this point, everyone should stand aside
and let the Air Force give this idea its best shot, and hope matters
work out as well as it seems they may.
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Air Force Association. All rights reserved.
