Gen. Ronald Keys, Air Combat Command chief, said today that ACC wants to see even further reductions in its infrastructure, taking the cuts well beyond what came out of the most recent round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Keys told AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium that BRAC 2005 “didn’t get me everything I wanted…. We’re not finished; not by a long shot.” Keys wanted to shutter more facilities to free up cash for combat capabilities. The ACC chief didn’t elaborate on which bases he could give up. The BRAC commission not only closed a number of ACC bases but also kept open a number which the command marked for closure, such as Cannon AFB, N. Mex., and Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Department of the Air Force to pause all planning related to its “Re-Optimization for Great Power Competition” effort—a move that leaves a sweeping plan to transform the Air Force and Space Force in limbo.