Air Force Reserve Command is looking to hire 1,600 airmen by September to be individual mobilization augmentees. “Recent attrition rates and the rise of new positions have created a great need to grow the [IMA] program,” command officials stated in a release June 18. “We have openings all over the world and in the new Global Strike, Cyber, and Africa Commands,” said Maj. Chuck Pittman, director of personnel for AFRC’s readiness management group. The IMA program gives airmen the flexibility to choose where they serve and when. It also assigns them to active component units, either Air Force or joint. Further, these airmen have the opportunity to participate in emerging, cutting-edge missions, such as cyber. Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, AFRC boss, said the IMA program helps the command “to maintain the right people with the right skill sets in the right places.”
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.