Air Force leaders have instructed public affairs personnel to use the phrase “force shaping,” rather than terms such as “downsizing” or “layoffs” whey they are discussing the upcoming personnel cuts. And, leaders have deemed as strictly taboo the obvious, logical, and traditional term “reduction in force.” Why? Senior leadership wants to emphasize that the service is deliberately moving toward a new and smaller organization, rather than having folks construe the cuts as a money-saving effort.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
