The Air National Guard will slash budgets for flying hours and other activities to meet $1.8 billion worth of cuts from Fiscal 2008 to 2013, said CMSgt. Richard Smith, ANG’s top enlisted man, at a recent enlisted symposium in Bismarck, Ark. He emphasized the Air Guard’s plan to sustain its current manpower level. Smith also noted that these actions and the undertaking of new Air Guard missions such as Predator operations, space and intelligence activities, and Joint Cargo Aircraft operations will transform ANG in the next five to 10 years. Of course, new missions mean new training, but with school slots at a premium, Smith acknowledged, “I don’t get a warm, fuzzy answer when I talk to folks on the Air Staff about school dates.” He is concerned that in its personnel downsizing move, the Air Force doesn’t forget that the Air Guard and Reserve need training slots to re-mission.
Dick Cheney’s Legacy with the Air Force
Nov. 6, 2025
Dick Cheney, who died Nov. 3 at 84, is best remembered by most Americans as among the most powerful Vice Presidents in history, a consummate Washington insider who had previously served in the Nixon administration, was Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, a Congressman for a decade, and Secretary…
