Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, director of the Air National Guard, will not be losing personnel as part of the Total Force’s reduction of 40,000 airmen, but that concession came at a price. To pay for its airmen, McKinley said at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Tuesday that the Guard had to shave $1.8 billion from its accounts. The ANG managed this by cutting its flying hours, repair, and military construction accounts. Most Air Force major commands will be shedding personnel, but the Air Guard is not alone in staving off reductions—Air Force Special Operations Command will actually be increasing in size.
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.