There is a major difference of opinion between the two leaders of the National Guard Caucus—Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.)—and the Air Force leadership—Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley—over USAF plans and suggestions for the Air National Guard. Both Senators recently took exception to proposals in a letter Moseley sent earlier this month to the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves in which, according to a letter Leahy and Bond sent to the Air Force, he recommended a “most troubling, and extreme” proposal that would “morph the Air National Guard’s organizational structure into a mirror of the Air Force Reserve.” During a hearing last week, Leahy chided Moseley for calling ANG “my Air National Guard.” In remarks before the caucus Tuesday, Leahy criticized the Army and Air Force for not having plans to address equipment shortfalls. He said that “while the Air Guard issues are not as severe [as the Army Guard], the shortfalls are only going to grow if we don’t deal with them.”
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
