Air Force Reserve Command head, Lt. Gen. John Bradley told attendees Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that he prefers to call the Air Force’s personnel reduction “forced” shaping, instead of the service-preferred “force shaping.” Bradley explained, “We’re being forced to do some shaping.” Bradley said that AFRC’s share of the 40,000-personnel cut amounts to 7,744 people. He expects to take about one-third from restructuring medical forces, focusing on fulfilling aeromedical evacuation missions rather than backfilling active duty medical personnel when they deploy. AFRC already provides about 60 percent of USAF’s aeromed element. Other cuts will come from the ranks of individual mobilization augmentees and Reservists in geographically separated units. It boils down to keeping the ones that are “most dear,” when it comes to GSUs and stand alone IMAs, said Bradley. Noting the valuable service performed by the IMAs, he said that the IMA cuts would be spread horizontally across the commands. “So, we think we’ve done a balanced approach” Bradley concluded.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.