According to the head of the National Guard Bureau, the Guard is in “very serious negotiations” with the Air Force over the proposed personnel cuts to the Air National Guard. As part of its five-year plan to cut some 40,000 airmen, USAF said it wanted to cut ANG by around 14,000. Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, NGB chief, recently told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the Air Force has been unable to “adequately describe” how they reached that number for the Air Guard. “They realize that there is a flaw in the calculation,” asserted Blum, adding that USAF is working with Guard officials to “determine exactly what that manpower bill needs to be.” Blum did not rule out the possibility of ANG reductions, however, he agreed with earlier testimony by the outgoing ANG director, Lt. Gen. Daniel James III, who said a recent manpower study showed ANG needed to grow to accomplish all its missions. Blum testified that the study indicated ANG needed 12,000 to 19,000 additional airmen.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.