AF vice chief of staff testifies on readiness Published Nov. 1, 2011 By Senior Master Sgt. David Byron WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force vice chief of staff provided the Air Force perspective on readiness in an age of austerity to the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Readiness here Oct. 27. Gen. Phil Breedlove joined his Army, Navy and Marine Corps counterparts in discussing the challenges expected as the services look to find big budget savings over the next 10 years. "These are challenging times," Breedlove said. "The Air Force has been at war for more than two decades." Before joint operations began in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11, the general said the Air Force was already continuously rotating forces to the region to enforce no-fly zones over Iraq following the end of the first Gulf War. Today, the Air Force operates with 34 percent fewer aircraft and roughly 26 percent fewer people than it had when the first Gulf War started, Breedlove said. Meanwhile, the operations tempo has only increased, with no expectation of lessening in the future. The increased tempo has stressed the service, leading to a slow but steady decline in unit readiness since 2003, he said. The Air Force has also had to expand or add additional mission capabilities during the current conflicts, Breedlove said. "We have been asked to support this joint team in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance," he said. "We've also been asked to build an increased capacity in special operations, and we will continue to meet both of those requirements." However, doing so is made all the more difficult by the pressing need to recapitalize the aging fighter, tanker and bomber fleets, the general said. "We are flying the oldest fleet that the Air Force has ever flown," the general explained. While recognizing that the Air Force will play its part in the nation's economic recovery, Breedlove said the service also "desperately" needs to recapitalize its aging force. He said his service is reviewing all areas to find ways to operate with fewer dollars while also modernizing systems. This includes operating in a more energy efficient manner in order to lower fuel costs. However, the general said the Air Force will have a difficult time meeting all of the nation's defense needs if the special committee established by the Budget Control Act fails to reach consensus and triggers additional automatic budget cuts. "We believe we'll have to then begin to look at what are the capabilities that we'll have to shed and no longer offer to this joint team," Breedlove said. Such a budget cut would affect the number of bases the Air Force could support, lessen the number of Airmen who could be retained, and affect the industrial base that provides and maintains Air Force equipment and resources, the general explained. Despite the uncertain budget environment, Breedlove said senior Air Force leaders remain committed to ensuring the readiness of their service. "Our goal is to do two things: first of all, maintain a credible military force," Breedlove emphasized. "And second, avoid becoming a hollow force."
