Despite grave concerns being expressed about impending budget cuts, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz urged attendees at the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference at National Harbor, Md., near Washington, D.C., not to be too downbeat. “This is not a time to despair,” he said at Wednesday’s Four-Star Forum. “We’re still going to be a $100 billion Air Force and we can do a hell of a lot with that,” declared Schwartz, who has served as USAF’s top uniformed official since August 2008.
The Air Force is renaming its traditional aviation bonus program in 2024 and continuing a new, experimental second program, ordered by Congress, aimed at getting aviators to extend their commitment sooner and for longer. While the programs can’t be doubled-up, aviators may be able to move from one to the…