The Air Force and Army National Guard have built a strong partnership since the Air Force became an independent service 64 years ago, but the age of flat-lining and maybe even declining budgets is likely to “create tension” between the two services over resource allocation, said Gen. Craig McKinley, National Guard Bureau chief. That’s something the nation cannot afford to let happen, McKinley said Friday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. “As we move into leaner times, our partnership will be tested,” he said. He added, “It has to be our goal to create one team that will emerge through these challenges more efficient and better suited to meet the needs of tomorrow.”
The Department of the Air Force has identified 50 programs that will make up the core of its contribution to the Pentagon’s joint all-domain command and control effort, branding them part of the “DAF Battle Network,” according to newly-released budget documents. The DAF Battle Network programs span multiple offices and agencies…