While the Air Force has put money back into its flying hour accounts for the remainder of the fiscal year, time will be the critical factor in getting the units that stopped flying in April combat-capable once again, said Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, the Joint Chiefs vice chairman. “What I can tell you is that if you take one of these squadrons that hasn’t been flying at all, it’s gonna take anywhere from one to three months for them to bring their proficiency back up just in terms of basic airmanship skills,” Winnefeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 18 in response to questioning from Ranking Member Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). It will take another three months beyond that for the units to get their combat skills up to standard, said Winnefeld. He said he would provide Inhofe with the monetary costs associated with the retraining of these units, for the record.
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.