In a new Letter to Airmen, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne writes that Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command “training and operations make it impossible to differentiate between the three components.” He goes on to note that the days of the “strategic reserve” are gone and adds, “our total force sacrifices daily through extended deployments in the most challenging missions we have.” Wynne’s bottom line: “Total Force has moved from a future concept to today’s reality.”
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…