The Air Force’s top civilian leader on Tuesday called the readiness crisis a “vicious circle” and recommends the Air Force undergo a “get well program.”
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, speaking at a Defense One Leadership Briefing, called the political climate the “most divisive atmosphere in Washington” since she originally came in the 1980s.
Partisan politics created a dire situation that may lead to a $1.3 billion hole, should sequestration or a continuing resolution be implemented as planned in fiscal 2018, James said.
In a time when the Air Force is the smallest it’s ever been, while flying the oldest aircraft ever used, the secretary is worried about the Air Force’s preparedness for a “high end” fight.
She is confident the Air Force is ready for missions against the Islamic State but is hesitant when it comes to “near-peer” adversaries. Against a sophisticated opponent like China or Russia, James said only “50 percent of combat air forces have the degree of readiness for an anti-access/area-denial environment.”
While the Air Force is “on a better path now … we have not made enough progress,” James said. To sustain increasing mission loads with fewer airmen, James recommends Congress continue to “modestly” grow the force, fully fund readiness accounts, and modernize the Air Force for the future.
The latest reports show the Air Force short 700 pilots and 4,000 maintainers. To fix the shortfall, the Air Force is on track to grow from 311,000 airmen to 317,000 airmen by Sept. 30.
James is confident the troop increase is a step in the right direction, but she said “It will take years to get out from under this.”
Increasing the force isn’t a “silver bullet” for the secretary. The Air Force needs to raise bonus structures, which haven’t changed since 1999, increase the quality of life in the service, and get rid of additional duties that overload airmen.
Even with an undermanned Air Force, James stressed that the problem is not recruiting — it’s in training and retention.
An excess of inexperienced airmen coming into the Air Force now outweighs the declining levels of service members leaving. Higher paying jobs in the airline industry are driving experienced members out of the Air Force, leaving fewer airmen to train and lead the incoming members.
James said that “as long as there is no [continuing resolution] or sequestration, the [Air Force] will be fine.” However, if Congress doesn’t lift the budget control act, nearly 60 Air Force programs will be affected amid two wars in the Middle East.
