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.
As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.