Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke and Air Force Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. James Jackson will testify on Thursday in Arlington, Va., at the next open hearing of the congressionally mandated Air Force structure commission, according to a commission release. They will “present their insights, analysis, and data on proposals to integrate” the Air Guard and Reserve into one reserve component, states the release. On Oct. 25, the commission will convene again to hear senior enlisted perspectives from CMSAF James Cody; CMSgt. James Hotaling, ANG command chief; and CMSgt. Cameron Kirksey, Air Force Reserve Command command chief. Also expected to testify on Friday are Todd Rosenblum, acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and America’s security affairs, and Richard Wightman, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs. The commission is tasked with determining how to configure the Air Force to best meet current and future mission requirements with available resources. It has to submit its recommendations to Congress by Feb. 1. (See also Rebooting the Total Force from the July issue of Air Force Magazine.)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.