Air Combat Command announced it will cut a total of 742 position, of which 680 will come from its headquarters staff, in an effort to cut overhead costs. “Although the Air Force plan calls for reductions in headquarters positions, or ‘spaces,’ no later than Oct. 1, 2014, ACC officials stressed that any personnel reductions would likely take much longer and wouldn’t necessarily correspond directly to the number of spaces,” according to the release. Patricia Whitaker, the 633 Air Base Wing’s chief of civilian personnel, said the process of offering voluntary separation, evaluating vacancies for replacement, and then proceeding with involuntary separation will not be rushed. Meanwhile, Pacific Air Forces announced that it would cut 237 billets by the end of the fiscal year, with 145 realigned under newly established Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center in an effort to meet the same 20 percent reduction mandate. The remaining 92 positions have not yet been identified for reduction, according to a July 17 PACAF release. “We have an obligation to the American people to produce the very best Air Force we can with the resources we are given, which in part led us to these very difficult decisions,” said Gen. Hawk Carlisle, PACAF commander. (See also Air Force to Cut 3,459 Headquarters Positions.)
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.