According to a news release from the 726th Air Control Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, the 726th recently sent more than 40 percent of its airmen to Southwest Asia. The remaining airmen have had to “broaden” their outlook and “learn a few more skills,” says Lt. Col. Edward Meyer, acting squadron commander. It’s working, but Meyer notes, “We can’t sustain long-duration operations.” That means the squadron must “be more deliberate” in its scheduling to prevent overtasking, he explained. And, even with so many squadron members deployed to SWA, those at home base also must support eight months of on-call Operation Noble Eagle stateside deployments. Is this typical for USAF units? Maybe not, but we suspect more rather than fewer units face this quandary over how to maintain stateside missions when significant numbers are forward deployed.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
