Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, Air 
National Guard director, said he’d like to see it become easier for active duty airmen to shift to the Air Guard or Air Force Reserve—and perhaps even revert to the active duty ranks at some later point. “We need to be able to move people through a continuum of service and make it easier for them, for example, if they want to come off active duty and serve a period in the Guard or the Reserve, to be able to do that,” he told Senate defense appropriators in recent testimony. “And then if [the] opportunity is presented and they can go back on active duty, that would be great, too.” Such changes in policy would help the Air Guard right now, he said. That’s because, the Air Guard, at some 106,700 members strong, is “right on par” with its authorized end strength, yet it is “short 1,300 officers,” said Wyatt. Meanwhile, the active duty Air Force has “an abundance of officers,” he said, some of whom it has to shed to meet its authorized end strength. (See also Wyatt’s prepared testimony)
The Air Force wants to “own and run” more of its air bases, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said Nov. 6, in what could be a major potential revamp the military’s joint base program. Speaking at the Airlift/Tanker Association’s 2026 Symposium, Wilsbach said he and the…