If the Air Force is compelled to make vertical cuts to live within a continuing budget sequester—such as taking out the whole A-10 or B-1 fleet, for example—Air Force Materiel Command won’t simply get rid of everyone currently working on the affected platform. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, head of AFMC, told the Daily Report on Monday that the command “will try to do a balanced” reduction, preserving the right mix of experienced—and less experienced—people across the AFMC enterprise, if a reduction in force is necessary. That would mean moving some people on a retired platform to other projects; but it also means some people working on other programs might lose their billets, she said. She spoke to the Daily Report after her speech at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference.
New Air Force, Pentagon, and White House initiatives aim to chip away at an issue that has long frustrated leaders and families across the military: spouse employment. For years now, the percentage of unemployed military spouses has held steady at around 20 percent, experts say.
