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11,550 airmen not funded in 2009 defense bill

In June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the end of the Air Force drawdown.

But, apparently, no one told Congress.

So when lawmakers passed the 2009 Defense Authorization Bill on Saturday, they did not authorize funds for more than 317,050 airmen.

That is considerably fewer than the 328,600 airmen Gates said he intended to keep in uniform through the end of fiscal 2009 — the approximate size of the force right now. Even so, there are no plans to cut 11,550 airmen.

The reason for the disconnect: Neither Gates’ office nor the Air Force ever went to Congress to formally ask for more airmen, according to congressional staffers.

“They have not changed that request since the budget was submitted in February,” according to a spokesman on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

By law, Congress sets the size of the military and the individual services can’t exceed their authorized end strength by more than 3 percent — that’s 326,551 airmen if the current authorization stands, which means the current end strength is about 2,000 airmen over that.

No problem says Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Les’ A. Melnyk, who says the Air Force, or any service, can exceed even the 3 percent overage because the president declared a state of national emergency following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That means, he said, “in effect, there is currently no end-strength cap.”

But even though the Air Force may exceed its authorized personnel level, that doesn’t mean money has been set aside to pay the extra airmen. Those funds will have to come from a supplemental budget request or be scavenged from other Air Force programs, said a Senate Armed Services Committee spokesman.

“We do not oppose the Air Force’s efforts to maintain a higher end strength, and expect the department and the Air Force to work with the Congress in finding appropriate funding sources in 2009,” read the congressional report.

Source of funding unclear

A Senate staffer familiar with the situation said the Air Force would likely get its desired troop strength, but so far the source of the cash is unclear.

Several messages left with representatives at the Air Force budget office were not immediately returned.

Estimates based on a February report to Congress suggest that having 328,000 airmen at the end of fiscal year 2009, rather than the drawdown goal of 316,600, would cost an additional $690 million.

In his testimony to the House Armed Services Committee in February, then-Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne was less than clear on the manpower needs of the Air Force.

Wynne said internal Air Force debate on end strength resulted in a compromise to make the official number 316,600 and to “hedge our bet” by putting an unfunded 330,000 end strength on the service’s wish list. The final congressional 317,050 number includes an additional 450 medical personnel.

“I kind of feel like Mark Twain,” said Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., after Wynne’s explanation of Air Force manpower needs. “The more you explain it to me, the more I don’t understand it.”

One Air Force watcher said Congress’ lack of financial backing for more airmen was tied to the failure of former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael “Buzz” Mosley and Wynne to get significant aircraft recapitalization by cutting people.

“The writing on the wall was the Air Force’s end strength cuts weren’t yielding any modernization dividends,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, senior policy analyst for national security at The Heritage Foundation. “The authorizers’ lack of buy-in to the new plan ... symbolizes a larger credibility problem facing the Air Force on the Hill. I think the new leadership has a sense of the credibility gap, but not the true extent of it.”

In other parts of the authorization dealing with Air Force policy issues, Congress:

* Approved $523 million for future F-22 acquisitions, with the caveat that the Air Force could only spend $140 million ahead of the next administration taking office and deciding the fate of the program. Congress also came through with an expected acquisition of 20 more Raptors.

* Ordered the service to keep at least 74 retired KC-135s ready to fly again on short notice.

* Authorized spending $2.1 billion for six new C-17 transport planes.

DISCUSS: Air Force funding