The 
Air Force’s proposed force-structure changes will affect more than 60 installations in virtually every state and territory, though 33 states will be directly impacted, according to the service’s newly released white paper detailing these plans. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said during a Pentagon briefing on Feb. 3 the service has accepted a slightly higher than moderate risk by proposing such extensive changes, though he said he was confident the Air Force would still be able to fulfill surge requirements and meet continuing rotation demands. Among the changes, officials plan to retire or reclassify five A-10 squadrons, one F-16 squadron, and one training/support-coded F-15 aggressor squadron in order to get down to 54 combat-coded fighter squadrons. They seek to phase out 65 of the oldest C-130 transports, leaving a fleet of 134 C-130Js and 184 C-130Hs. They also plan to retire 20 KC-135s, maintaining a fleet of 453 tankers. Click here to continue reading on the aircraft reductions. (Donley-Schwartz transcript) (See also Trading Size for Quality from the Daily Report archives.)
The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.