New Air National Guard commander Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley said that a philosophical difference over economics has spelled the end of an experiment that placed young active duty airmen in a community with experienced Air Guardsmen to learn F-16 maintenance. The Burlington, Vt., Total Force experiment was “working magnificently,” McKinley said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington. However, he noted, “we’re starting to have a clash between an active component that uses a business-case model of efficiency” and a Guard that integrates into the community. In actuality, he said, the Burlington test will be coming to an end, a casualty of USAF’s manpower cuts. McKinley said, “I’ve been told that we can’t continue the experiment.”
President Donald Trump is proposing a 13 percent increase in defense spending for fiscal 2026, growth that could mean the first ever $1 trillion defense budget, according to a document obtained by Air & Space Forces Magazine.