The head of Air Force Materiel Command, Gen. Bruce Carlson, told defense reporters Thursday that the command estimates it will have to cut 720 civilians as its share of the impending Air Force-wide cuts of some 40,000 positions, most of which will come from the military side of the force. Still, the cuts pose a problem for AFMC, which is heavily civilian. (AFMC has more than twice as many civilians as it does military personnel.) Carlson says, “You don’t want to open the floodgates, … you might get the wrong 700 people.” AFMC is trying to selectively offer retirement packages over the next three to four months to entice volunteers, while still retaining sufficient workers in each skill set.
The Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter is Air Combat Command’s top priority, because without it, the Air Force can’t provide the control of the air the whole military depends on to operate, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly said. He also named a replacement for the E-3 AWACS, new…