Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff Sgt. Craig Seals
Force shaping, right-sizing or negative retention, regardless of what name is used, “a rose by any other name,” will still reduce the force.
Fiscal year 2006 found the Air Force still in the position of having to reduce its numbers.
The initial goal of force shaping was to have 16,600 Airmen leave the Air Force, 3,900 officers and 13,700 enlisted, but after the Force Shaping Phase II initiative of fiscal year 2005’s reduction of the enlisted force, the Air Force began fiscal year 2006 with an imbalance. This time in the officer core.
In a recent Air Force Print News interview, Brig. Gen. Glenn Spears, Air Force director of force management policy, said, “We met our goals to balance and reduce excesses in our enlisted force, and we must continue to focus on shaping the officer force in size and skill.”
“We must have a balanced force of officers and enlisted Airmen to meet the missions of today and tomorrow,” the general said.
Currently, Air Force leaders plan to reduce the total force by 40,000 by 2011, according to a recent Air Force report.
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force William Anderson had an opportunity to address the topic of force shaping with the Airmen of the 27th Fighter Wing during a recent visit to Cannon. During a breakfast at the Pecos Trail Dining Facility, Secretary Anderson opened the floor to the Airmen in order to answer any questions they might have for a top-level Air Force official.
The question posed to the secretary was, “Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for Force Shaping?”
While Secretary Anderson is not currently head of any force shaping initiatives, he did say, “Everything is always in a constant state of transition, including the Air Force. Due to that, there can really be no finish line.”
“The world around us is constantly changing,” the secretary continued. “The Air Force must constantly change as well in order to meet the needs of the world around us.”
“Airmen have already experienced tremendous change in the world around them and the pace of change will continue to accelerate, both inside the Air Force and outside,” the secretary said. “They shouldn’t fear change, they should embrace it. They are smart. They should constantly learn, challenge themselves and do things outside their comfort zones. That way they can be successful no matter what the future brings.”
Secretary Anderson referenced a triangle, with Air Force leaders at the top down to the Airmen at the bottom, as an example for the Airman to understand former force shaping initiatives and why the Air Force is currently reducing its size in the manner it is today.
“In previous force shaping initiatives, the Air Force cut from the middle but that created a bottleneck effect from the bottom to the top,” he explained.
“In order to keep that from happening, the Air Force is taking a cut from top to bottom. Like slicing off an even piece of the triangle,” Secretary Anderson said.
The cut Secretary Anderson spoke of was in reference to a recent Air Force report in which Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Gerald Murray was interviewed on personnel cuts.
“We can’t just cut the bottom or the top off. It’s got to be selective in the way that we do this, in the way that we shape the force,” Chief Murray said.
The chief said cuts would be proportionate across ranks and career fields, bearing in mind the need and requirement for maintaining a strong and balanced force.
While force shaping initiatives continue to evolve and transform the shape of the Air Force, it will always need capable, committed Airmen to execute the expeditionary mission of the world around it.
For more information on current force shaping issues, Airmen may contact the military personnel flight customer service at 784-2094.
