Air Force Reserve boss Lt. Gen. John Bradley, speaking with reporters at Bolling AFB, D.C., on March 26, said his C-130 mobility crews are going into the Air Expeditionary Force mix—on a volunteer basis. He thinks that will be a better way to manage the heavy need for C-130 crews than the standard two-year mobilization call-ups. The Air Force Reserve’s 150 or so C-130 crews hit their mobilization limits last fall, according to Bradley. Active-duty AEF tours currently run 120 days, but Bradley did not indicate whether the Reservists would deploy for the entire time or a shorter tour, as some fighter crews now do. He gave no timetable when this C-130 volunteer approach would begin.
The Air Force is about to start considering what may one day replace the venerable B-52 Stratofortress, and take a first step towards imagining its bomber force in the long-term future. The service said in documents accompanying its fiscal 2027 budget proposal that it plans to start a “Heavy Bomber…