Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) this morning expressed his support for an "independent assessment" of the Air Force's proposed future force structure, an assessment already recommended by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Forbes, the chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, said at a hearing on the Air Force's fiscal year 2013 force structure recommendations that he would be supportive of an independent panel. Though Forbes didn't mention it by name, the only such panel proposed so far is the Senate Armed Services Committee's "National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force," which -- if approved -- would report back to Congress in time for the fiscal year 2014 budget submission.
Forbes said he is in favor of implementing force structure changes that have broad support while seeking more information on the rest of the Air Force's proposals.
"Additional clarity on the requirements that support the overall force structure has been lacking for many years and is clearly warranted," he said in his opening statement.
Background information on the proposed commission is available in this Inside the Air Force piece from early June:
Senate Commission Could Lean On Internal Active-Reserve Analyses
The sector of the Air Force's strategic planning directorate that focuses on developing the right mix of active-duty, Guard and Reserve responsibility for individual mission areas has recently prepared analyses for several types of aircraft and is awaiting direction on how it can contribute to a commission proposed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In its fiscal year 2013 defense authorization bill, the Senate panel recommended creating a "National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force" to analyze the way the Air Force utilizes its active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve components. That recommendation is in response to the service's FY-13 budget request, which proposed the retirement of hundreds of Air National Guard aircraft and has drawn intense criticism from members of Congress and state governors for its disproportionate impact on the Guard.
Highlights of the legislation were made public last month, but the full bill text and report were not released until June 5. That commission would be required to report to Congress by the end of March 2013, in time for lawmakers to consider any recommendations as they evaluate the Defense Department's FY-14 budget request. The House defense authorization bill, passed by the full chamber last month, did not include similar language, and House leadership has not publicly objected to the commission's creation.
The Air Force internally evaluates how it divides responsibility between the active and reserve components using its Total Force Enterprise (TFE) review process. The TFE division, a branch of the Air Force's strategic plans and programs directorate, conducts detailed analyses of the way operations should be divided between the components within particular mission areas, and those analyses -- once fused together -- could help inform the commission's work. The review process also helps inform service basing decisions and personnel assignments, including the implementation of active associations at various sites across the country.
In a June 6 interview at the Pentagon, Col. Eric Jorgensen, the TFE division's chief, explained to Inside the Air Force that over the past 30 years, the active-duty Air Force's manpower and inventory have decreased significantly. In contrast, the Guard and Reserve have remained stable in those areas, resulting in a heavy dependence on the reserve component. The FY-13 budget and other long-term plans are meant to orient the service slightly more heavily toward the active-duty force, he said.