O
n Oct. 1, the Air National Guard is likely to fall short of its end strength target for the fourth consecutive year, Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, ANG chief, said yesterday. The shortfall is minor, though—about one percent. McKinley said at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington that the target is 107,000 Air Guardsmen, but the component currently has 105,892 airmen on its rolls. This is OK, he said, because the Guard will not lower its standards just to fill out a few more positions.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.