Cuts to the Air Force’s structure and programs must be placed in the context of a strategy, warned two Air Force major command bosses. “I look at capability and capacity,” said Gen. Raymond Johns, head of Air Mobility Command, last week during the four-star forum at the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. “We have a strategy and we are sized to meet that strategy. If it changes, we need to match the capacity to it. If [the strategy] doesn’t change, we need to be clear about what we can and can’t do.” Pacific Air Forces’ Gen. Gary North said he thinks “it’s a consensus that we won’t give up our ability to respond to a threat or disaster,” noting that cuts likely would come in areas like quality-of-life before readiness is endangered. “At some point,” he added, “we will go to the service Chiefs and say there’s less we will be able to do.”
2026 NDAA: 5 Highlights for Airmen and Guardians
Dec. 18, 2025
President Donald Trump signed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act on Dec. 18, a day after Congress passed the annual defense policy bill for the 65th consecutive year. Here’s what it means for the Air Force and Space Force.
