A long-term continuing resolution could “potentially break programs apart,” Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Carlton Everhart said Tuesday. “I have moved programs and shifted programs across the [Future Years Defense Program] so I can pay the immediate bills, but I will submit to you that any more tweaking of that, and I am cutting into the bone. There’s no more fat, there’s no more muscle; I’m cutting into the bone,” Everhart told the audience at the National Defense Transportation Association fall meeting in St. Louis. “So we’re watching this very closely as it comes up, and we’re working hand in hand with Congress to make sure that the budget stays viable.” Everhart said discussions will continue in a few weeks. In September, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein warned a long-term continuing resolution would reduce the service’s requested budget by $1.3 billion and, in turn, reduce the number of KC-46s it can procure from 15 to 12 in 2017. It also will affect at least 60 acquisition projects, said Goldfein at the time.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
