AF Today

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Topics

• AF Today
• World Situation
• AF Challenges

Col Robert Suminsby, Jr. 377 Air Base Wing
Commander
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The Air Force Today

• 28,000 Airmen deployed
• 300 combat sorties/day
• Airlift departure every 90 seconds, 24/7
• Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR)
• Homeland Defense 50 sorties/day

Airmen are supporting todays fight and shaping
tomorrows battlespace!
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Kirtlands Role
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A Look at Todays Enemy
A transnational movement of extremist
organizations, networks and individuals who share
a common purpose

• Ruthless committed to their cause
• Not constrained by borders
• Resilient to loss of leadership
• Franchise in nature
• Defined goals and objectives
• Empowered by the internet

Over 25 years into a long war
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Violent Extremists Long View
Iraq has become the focus of the enemys effort.
If they win in Iraq, they have a base from which
to expand their terror.

• Result
• Strongest army in the world
• Strongest currency in the world
• Largest country in the world
• Atomic and super power country
• Half of world population in Islamic State

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Tomorrows Potential Threats

• Nuclear standoff mounting in Iran
• Chinese military buildup
• North Korean missile diplomacy
• Russian rearmament plans
• Israel / Lebanon confrontations
• Proliferation of MANPADS

All Graphics UNCLASSIFIED
Must also be ready for the next conflict!
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Air Force Challenges

• Weve been in a long fight
• Continuous combat ops for 16 yrs
• USAF flies 80 of all sorties for Operations
  ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, NOBLE EAGLE
• 500,000 sorties flown since 9/11
• Humanitarian / relief ops continue
• A toll on people equipment
• 127 aircraft lost since 9/11
• Readiness down 17 since 2001
• 32,000 Airmen deployed today
• 7,700 Airmen In Lieu Of taskings

AIR FORCE TODAY
Ops Tempo
Were in the fight worlds 9-1-1
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Air Force Challenges
of GDP
AIR FORCE TODAY

• Costs up budgets are not
• Defense spending as of GDP is 3.8, lowest ever
  in time of war
• In last 2 yrs, AF ?22B over FYDP
• Personnel costs ?57 over 10 yrs
• Ops / mx costs ?179 over 10 yrs

Ops Tempo
Budget Trends
Ops Tempo
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Air Force Challenges
AIR FORCE TODAY

• In midst of manpower cuts
• Reducing force by 57,500 members
• Despite ops tempo, smallest force size since
  post-WWII drawdown
• 25 cut in support contractors

Ops Tempo
Budget Trends
Budget Trends
Manpower Cuts
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Air Force Challenges
AIR FORCE TODAY

• Older, smaller, stressed fleet
• Avg age is 24 yrs (KC-135E 48 yrs)
• Investments ?19 over 22 years
• 14 of fleet grounded or limited ops
• Difficult to recapitalize quickly
• Ex Procured 390 fighters in 1980 just 26
  planned for FY08

Manpower Cuts
Ops Tempo
Budget Trends
Recapitalization
Manpower Cuts
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Air Force Challenges

• We must
• Defeat terrorism, take care of our Airmen, and
  recapitalize for tomorrow
• We will do this by
• Force shaping measures
• Incorporating AF-wide process improvements
• Retiring outdated overly expensive legacy
  systems

AIR FORCE TODAY
Recapitalization
Manpower Cuts
Ops Tempo
Budget Trends
Recapitalization
We have faced these challenges beforebut not all
at the same time!
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Take Aways
Your Air Force is busy.and has been for 16 years
Were at war today and must be ready for
tomorrow
Dominant air space power is Americas
asymmetric advantage
Thanks for everything you do to support us!