Brown says USAF's new force-generation model will bolster readiness, future modernization

The Air Force chief of staff said his service's new force-generation model will prevent officials from "running ourselves ragged" as part of a broader effort to standardize scheduling and ensure sustained readiness and future modernization.

The framework, Gen. Charles Brown said during a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon today, will not only replace the current air expeditionary force construct, but with it, change how forces are deployed "so we don't burn everything up and then wish we had it ready to go if there was some type of crisis or contingency."

"What we're trying to do with that is a level of predictability for our airmen, but also a level of predictability for our force so that we can actually talk about the impact to readiness," he said. "Because you can always pull things forward, but when you pull things forward, all you're doing is building a hole someplace else. We haven't been able to articular that very well."

"At the same time, you want to actually ensure that we have not only readiness today, readiness tomorrow, but also future modernization," he added. "It's a way for us to kind of lay that out."

The new model, expected to reach initial operational capability in fiscal year 2023, consists of a 24-month cycle broken into four "bins" that last six months each. At the beginning is the "available to commit" stage, in which airmen are deployed or prepared to be. Next is "reset," in which the airmen will return home and "start some of your basic skill set training," Brown said.

The final two phases are "prepare," which includes what Brown described as "some higher-level training," followed by "ready," which will feature participation in certification exercises like Red Flag, Red Flag-Alaska and others. Then, airmen would return to the "available to commit" stage.

Brown's comments came the day after the service announced it is in the final stages of transitioning to the force-generation model. The Air Force's press release said major commands, such as Air Combat Command, Air Force Global Strike Command and others, are working to transition squadrons to the framework.

"We're already taking steps today to start aligning our force and it drives a bit more discipline," Brown said today.