The Air Force Reserve is a 70,000-member force of “citizen-airmen” providing “an affordable, cost-effective option” for national defense in an era of budgetary constraints, Lt. Gen. Maryanne Miller, Chief of Air Force Reserve, said at ASC16. At a time when “we have the smallest Air Force in our history,” the Reserve provides a “surge-ready capacity” particularly well-suited to the wars of the present, Miller added. Going forward, Miller called for new policies aimed at helping Reservists ”balance civilian life and life as airmen.”
The Space Force expects to award $905 million in contracts over the next five years through a new Maneuverable GEO program, which aims to form a commercial fleet of mobile communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.