In a lengthy
letter to airmen, Chief of Staff Michael Moseley writes that after taking a 40-percent post-Cold War personnel reduction, the Air Force “has been driven to sacrifice its future to keep manpower constant,” leading to a “decades-old decline of investment accounts.” To wit, by not cutting more people, the service has not been able to buy new aircraft and new space systems. To remedy this situation, Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne embarked on the current plan to cut 40,000 full-time equivalent positions over the next five years. People—presumably unnecessary people—must go. Moseley explains: “To stay within our allocated budgets and to increase our investment accounts, the reality is we have to draw the force down.” Moseley writes also that the service’s remaining personnel should “work smarter, not harder.”
The Air Force has increased the size of its deployment of combat search and rescue forces in Iraq, making the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron the largest CSAR outfit since the Vietnam War, reports the Red Tail Flyer. The squadron is larger than rescue squadrons in the US. Recently the 64th ERQS added five additional HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, nearly tripling the unit’s aircraft. The number of aircrew, pararescue jumpers, and combat rescue officers has grown as well to sustain a 24/7 operation. Their mission also expanded to cover not just downed aircrews but also special operations missions.