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Gates: No more cuts to Air Force personnel

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. — Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the end to the Air Force’s personnel cuts during a speech to airmen here Monday, one of three stops on an overnight trip he is making to three Air Force bases.

Gates is seeking to reassure airmen after he asked for and received the resignations of Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne June 5, and to explain his reasons for doing so.

“While most public attention on the costs of war and the strain on our forces has been focused on the Army, the reality is that our airmen and women — and those in the other services — are under strain as well,” Gates told the Langley airmen. “In fact, you have been forward-deployed and at war for 17 years — since the first Gulf War. Your families have also borne this burden, and the Air Force has its own fallen heroes — often struck down while serving on the ground alongside soldiers and Marines.

“We know this and are working to ease the burden. For example, I intend immediately to stop further reductions in Air Force personnel.

The announcement ends the drawdown just three months before the service aimed to begin cutting another 12,000 airmen, bringing the active-duty force to 316,600 airmen by the end of 2009.

That was to be the last step of the drawdown that began in 2005 — when the service had 359,700 active-duty airmen — to slash personnel costs and free up money for the modernization of aircraft.

The 2009 plan called for a $312 million program to pay officers to leave early and would likely have involved telling enlisted airmen in overmanned career fields to retrain or leave the service when it came time re-enlist.

At the same time the Air Force was preparing to make the cuts, the service’s manpower estimate to Congress indicated the service needed more airmen, not less. Overall, the service needs 330,154 airmen in 2009, the estimate said. For example, the service should have 5,200 more maintainers to deal with aircraft that are getting older and require more hours to keep flight worth. And beyond the 330,145 airmen, Air Force special operations needs 3,200 airmen to fill growing demands from U.S. Special Operations Command.

To avoid further cuts, the Air Force estimated it needed $690 million in 2009, and that bill would grow to $1.5 billion in 2010 as retirement benefits and other costs increased.

Lawmakers in Congress weren’t sold on the idea of increasing personnel or stopping the drawdown. When the House and Senate armed services committees approved their plans for the Air Force, both allowed the drawdown to continue.

Gates’ announcement comes at the start of a three-base tour that will include Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Gates spoke to about 300 airmen sitting in the Langley base theater.

He said it was his first visit to the base, adding he wished he was visiting “under happier circumstances.”

Read the speech

“By now you all know about my decision to accept the resignations of Secretary Wynne and General Moseley,” he said.

He explained to airmen he was left no choice but to fire Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne after receiving a report from Adm. Kirkland Donald earlier this month outlining the continual degradation of Air Force nuclear standards.

“Were it not for the findings of Adm. Donald’s report regarding systemic problems and weaknesses in our nuclear weapons program, the leadership changes would not have taken place,” Gates said.

He went on to outline the three systemic problems Donald and his investigative team found.

* The service lacks a “clear, dedicated authority responsible for the nuclear enterprise. This started after Strategic Air Command was disbanded in 1992.”

* The Air Force could have prevented the mistaken shipment of secret nuclear nose cones to Taiwan had the “Air Force’s and Defense Logistics Agency’s existing inspections and oversight programs been functioning effectively.”

* The extent of Air Force nuclear expertise has declined over the years because its inability to keep airmen and officers in the nuclear community.

“When systematic problems are found, I believe that accountability must reach beyond NCOs and even colonels,” Gates said.

Gates tried to stop the speculation into his reasons for firing Wynne and Moseley saying the nuclear failures were the only reason.

He explained other influences like his debates with Air Force leaders on funding for the procurement of more F-22 Raptors, and Gate’s disappointment over the slow build up of UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan had no part in his decision.

Following his official comments to the Langley airmen, he opened the floor to questions.

It sounded like a statement he made at Air University earlier this year, when he told airmen to question their leaders during a speech there.

But the press was asked to leave during this session to ensure there was an “inside the family” type of discussion.

Reporter blogs from the Gates trip

DISCUSS: Halt to the drawdown

RELATED READING

* Moseley and Wynne forced out

* Our exclusive interview with the chief

* Who is General Schwartz?

MULTIMEDIA:

* Moseley-Wynne photos

* Will Moseley’s and Wynne’s initiatives survive?

RELATED MINOT STORIES

* New B-52 squadron still coming

* Minot flunks again

* Minot bomb wing recertified for nukes

* Minot nuke handlers not ready

* Westa takes reigns at 5th Bomb Wing

* Commander disciplined for nuclear mistake

* B-52 flies mistakenly with nukes aboard

RELATED NUKE STORIES

* Missile parts shipped to Taiwan

* Gates orders nuclear inventory

RELATED MEMOS

Memo from General T. Michael Moseley to Secretary of Defense Gates

Memo from Michael W. Wynne to Secretary of Defense Gates

OTHER RELATED READING

* Generals tied to improper contract

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DISCUSS: What next?