Lieutenant General Daniel James III, Director Air National Guard
Overview
What an incredible year this has been for the nation and the Air National Guard. We’ve continued to make great strides in securing peace for the nation in the Global War on Terrorism. We have validated everything we’ve said about our capabilities: we train to fight and can accomplish the mission professionally and, most importantly, bring the will of the American people to the conflict.
Our contributions over the past two years and specifically in Operation Iraqi Freedom have been tremendous. Since September 11th, we’ve mobilized over 36,000 members and have flown over 111,000 sorties for over 340,000 hours. One-third of the Air Force aircraft in Operation Iraqi Freedom was from the Air Guard. We flew 100 percent of the Operation Enduring Freedom A-10 missions and 66 percent of the Iraqi Freedom A-10 taskings. We accomplished 45 percent of the F-16 taskings. The A-10s flew more combat missions in the Iraqi war than any other weapon system. Thanks to our innovative culture, we modernized A-10 and F-16 Block 52 aircraft with LITENING II targeting pods in just three months, giving them precision guided munitions capability. Because of this capability, we were 100 percent successful in stopping SCUD missile launches in the Western Iraqi desert.
We flew 86 percent of the Operation Iraqi Freedom tanker sorties. We accomplished this primarily through the Northeast Tanker Task Force which was operating within 24 hours of initial call from Air Mobility Command. In line with our militia spirit, that task force was initially manned through volunteerism. A total of 18 units supported it; 15 were from the Air Guard. Iraqi Freedom was also the first employment of the integrated 116th Air Control Wing flying with the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS). Wing leadership and the Guard and Active crews worked together superbly. While there is still work to do to fix some administrative issues, we have validated the concept of blended or integrated units. Our Expeditionary Combat Support has been providing outstanding service to the warfighter. Air National Guard maintenance quickly rewired our A-10s and F-16s with LITENING II in minimum time. They’ve kept our aircraft flying despite the challenging operating conditions.
Security Forces personnel were mobilized for two years and have provided an incredible service. It was Air National Guard Security Forces that were the first Security Forces on the ground in Iraq. Intelligence personnel have been providing unique capabilities for Central Command and organizational support for the U-2, Predator, and Global Hawk. Medical personnel have been utilizing the new Expeditionary Medical Service capability, providing critical care to the warfighter. Civil Engineers built bare bases out of the desert and trained Iraqi firefighters while Weather personnel worldwide provided over 50 percent of the Army’s weather support. Financial Management personnel have been diligently working to keep benefits flowing to our members despite complex systems. Air National Guard Command, Control, Communications and Computer personnel have kept vital information flowing on one end of the spectrum and provided Ground Theater Air Control System Personnel on the other. Our chaplains, too, have been providing outstanding spiritual aid out in the field. We have been able to participate at these levels because we provide Expeditionary and Homeland Defense capabilities that are relevant to the nation.
Today as we look toward our future relevancy, as indispensable and equal Total Force partners, we have to be prepared to transform with the Total Force. We are now in a position to make the decisions that will influence our next evolution… transforming the Air National Guard. We are fully committed to the transformation of the National Guard Bureau and Joint State Headquarters. Some of today’s capabilities may not be required in the future. The future Air Force will rely heavily on technological advances in space, command and control, intelligence and reconnaissance systems, information warfare, unmanned aerial vehicles, and the ability to conduct high volume and highly accurate attacks with significantly fewer platforms. For the Air Guard to remain Total Force partners, we have carved out our own strategy in those areas and will explore new organizational constructs. Among those constructs are various forms of integrated units where we can combine individual units with other Air Guard units or with another service component. We have to expand our capabilities as joint warfighters and make the necessary changes to integrate seamlessly into the joint warfighting force. To remain relevant we must continue to listen to the messages that are being sent today.
The “VANGUARD” Engagement Strategy is our vision for transforming the Air National Guard to remain “out in front” as the Department of Defense addresses current realities and plans for an uncertain future. Our Air National Guard of tomorrow will be molded by our transformational approach and actions of today. The Engagement Strategy highlights several Transformation Focus Areas where we can concentrate our continuing transformational efforts.
We must continue to lean on the strengths of our people, core values, core competencies, community connections and unique culture while participating in Air Force and Department of Defense Transformation, Jointness and Capabilities-Based Relevance.
Now is the time for us to lead the way by considering, selecting and implementing new concepts and missions that leverage our unique strengths to improve Total Force capabilities in support of Expeditionary roles and defense of the homeland. This can only be accomplished by involving all Air National Guard stakeholders, working toward a common goal… enhanced future relevance for the entire Air National Guard. Vanguard seeks the optimum synergy resulting from melding the right concepts and missions at the right times and places for the right reasons without jeopardizing our core values and historic traditional militia heritage and culture. By together addressing the complex issues that face us, we will keep the Air National Guard “Ready, Reliable, Relevant—Needed Now and in the Future.”
Support the War Fight
In the continuing tradition of the Citizen-Airmen, members of the Air National Guard have been contributing to the Global War on Terrorism across the full spectrum of operations. During the peak of Operation Iraqi Freedom, we had over 22,000 members mobilized or on volunteer status supporting the Global War on Terrorism worldwide. In Operation Iraqi Freedom we flew 43 percent of the fighter sorties, 86 percent of the tanker sorties and 39 percent of the airlift sorties. At the same time we were flying almost 25 percent of the Operation Enduring Freedom fighter sorties and over 20 percent of the tanker sorties. True to our heritage, Air National Guard members were hard at work protecting our shores at home by flying over 70 percent of the fighter sorties, over 50 percent of the tanker sorties and 35 percent of the airlift sorties.
But our capabilities do not reside only in aircraft; 15 percent of our expeditionary combat support were engaged during this same period. This includes 60 percent of Security Forces, many of whom were mobilized for the longest duration. Additionally, about 25 percent of our Intelligence, Services and Weather personnel were mobilized.
Air National Guard men and women are proud to defend and protect our nation at home and abroad. Often, however, support equipment requirements overseas necessitate that equipment remain in place, causing a shortage of equipment for training at home. We are working with Air Force and Defense Department leaders to develop a solution.
Medical Service Transformation—Expeditionary Combat Support, Homeland Defense, and Wing Support
In 2002, the Air National Guard’s Surgeon General led the Air National Guard Medical Service through its most revolutionary transformation in history by reconfiguring its medical capabilities into Expeditionary Medical Support systems. These systems provide highly mobile, integrated and multifunctional medical response capabilities. They are the lightest, leanest and most rapidly deployable medical platforms available to the Air National Guard today. This system is capable of simultaneously providing Expeditionary Combat Support to the warfighter for Air and Space Expeditionary Force missions, Homeland Defense emergency response capabilities to the states and support to the Air National Guard Wings. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Air National Guard medical units provided Expeditionary Combat Support to the warfighter. The Expeditionary Medical Support capability allowed 10 percent of Air National Guard medical unit personnel to deploy for Operation Iraqi Freedom, compared to only 3 percent in the early 1990s for deployments for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The United States Central Command has validated that the Expeditionary Medical Support system is a perfect fit for the Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force Global Strike Task Force and Concept of Operations.
Homeland Defense capabilities are provided by the Expeditionary Medical Support system through its Military Support to Civil Authorities. The Air National Guard Medical Service plays a vital role in the development and implementation of the National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package. This package will provide support to state and local emergency responders and improve Weapons of Mass Destruction response capabilities in support of the Civil Support Teams. The Air National Guard will have 12 trained teams by late 2004 and will build toward an anticipated 54 teams by 2007. The Air Combat Command Surgeon General has committed to providing 39 mass decontamination equipment sets to 39 Wings for installation-to-installation support, which will ensure that the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force package’s decontamination teams remain trained. The National Guard’s short-term objective is to obtain 10 Small Portable Expeditionary Aerospace Rapid Response equipment sets, one for each Federal Emergency Management Agency Region. The Air National Guard Medical Service’s new Force Structure provided by the Expeditionary Medical Support system provides standardized and much improved Force Health Protection, Public Health, Agent Detection, and Health Surveillance capabilities to better support all Air National Guard Wings. This will enhance the protection of the Wings’ resources and improve the medical readiness of its personnel.
Thus the modular “building block” capability of Expeditionary Medical Support provides an advanced technology and an essential, tailored medical capability in a small forward footprint expandable to meet situational needs. The Air National Guard Surgeon General has pursued and will continue to develop the Air National Guard Medical Service’s technology and modernization plans to support the warfighter’s, state’s, and Wing’s requirements.
Eyes and Ears in the Sky: Air National Guard Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Systems and Support
The Air National Guard’s Intelligence
Surveillance and Reconnaissance personnel and systems play an increasingly important role in the defense of our nation. Air National Guard men and women are essential to Air Force tasking, processing, exploitation, and dissemination missions to support Global Hawk, Predator, and U-2 collection missions.
Due to a significant increase in Air Force mission requirements, the Air National Guard continues to expand its intelligence collection and production capability. The Air National Guard has also expanded its imagery intelligence capability through the use of Eagle Vision, which is a deployable commercial imagery downlink and exploitation system. This system provides valuable support to aircrew mission planning and targeting, as well as imagery support to natural disasters and terrorism.
Other developing Air Force capabilities that are entrusted to the Air National Guard include the F-16 Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System and the C-130 SCATHE VIEW tactical imagery collection system. The Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System will be improved to provide near-real-time support to warfighter “kill-chain” operations in day-night, all weather conditions. SCATHE VIEW provides a near-real-time imaging capability to support humanitarian relief and non-combatant evacuation operations. To support signal intelligence collection requirements, the Air National Guard continues to aggressively upgrade the SENIOR SCOUT platform. SENIOR SCOUT remains the primary collection asset to support the nation’s war on drugs and the Global War on Terrorism in the Southern Hemisphere. Finally, the Air National Guard established a new unit to support RC/OC/WC-135 flying operations at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. This unique future Total Force organizational construct is transformational and serves as a successful example for future operationally integrated units. The Air National Guard is transforming its force structure to meet escalating Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission requirements and an ever-increasing demand for Air Guard capabilities.
Managing Force Finances
Financial Management experienced an unprecedented deployment tempo during 2003. For the first time ever, an Air National Guard Comptroller was assigned exclusive command and fiduciary responsibility for the establishment and sustainment of financial operations in direct support of combat missions. The challenge was to create a financial infrastructure from scratch. This Comptroller and subordinate staff of 5 Air National Guard financial management professionals “financed the fight” with distinction.
As locations overseas were vacated, our financial management expertise was noticeably acknowledged. Our finance personnel were specifically chosen and assigned the significant responsibility for final reconciliation and settlement of accounts. The importance of departing the local economy with balanced books and completely liquidated fiscal obligations cannot be understated. The Air Guard delivered remarkable stewardship in this demanding role.
The Operational Tempo at home generated another Financial Management “first”. One hundred seventy-six Air National Guard finance personnel were mobilized as part of an innovative home station support package. This was a transformational approach to the surge in processing workload that tripled as hundreds of Airmen at each unit were called to duty and follow-on overseas deployment.
The Air National Guard: Using the Stars to Serve the Community
For the Air Guard, Space Operations provide a critical communications link to communities throughout the nation in the form of satellite support for everyday uses, television, computers, and wireless phones, but also serve as an important military deterrence from external threats. Currently, the 137th Space Warning Squadron in Colorado provides mobile survivable and endurable missile warning capability to U.S. Strategic Command. Recently, two Air National Guard units in Wyoming and California have come out of conversion to provide operational command and control support to Northern Command and to provide round-the-clock support to the Milstar satellite constellation.
Additionally, the Air Force has approved space missions for the 119th Command and Control Squadron in Tennessee to support the U.S. Strategic Command, and the 114th Range Flight in Florida is partnered with an active Air Force unit performing the Launch Range safety mission. There are future plans by the Air Force to transition additional space program missions and assets in Alaska and other states to Air National Guard control.
Comprehensive and Realistic Combat Training—An Asymmetric Advantage
The National Guard Bureau has a fundamental responsibility to ensure that the men and women of the Air Guard are properly trained to meet the challenges they will face to protect and defend this country. This can be done through the effective development and management of special use airspace and ranges. To support this requirement of the warfighter, the Air Guard is responsible for 14 air-to-ground bombing ranges, four Combat Readiness Training Centers, and the Air Guard Special Use Airspace infrastructure. To ensure that our units remain ready and relevant, they must have access to adequate training airspace and ranges that meet the demands of evolving operational requirements. The National and Regional Airspace and Range Councils, co-chaired by both the Air Guard and the Air Force, continue to identify and work airspace and range issues that affect combat capability and are engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration in the redesign of the National Airspace System.
Transformation efforts to improve realistic training at our ranges have been identified by several units as instrumental in preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom. For example, the recently deployed Joint Modular Ground Targets, Urban Area Targets and Time Sensitive Targets provide training that reflects today’s combat realities. Ranges are being equipped with modernized scoring and instrumentation and data-link equipment necessary to support precision-guided weapons training. Critical training is provided to ground Forward Air Controllers as well as aircrews. Range residual cleanup and associated environmental issues remain a major challenge.
The four Combat Readiness Training Centers provide an integrated, year-round, realistic training environment (airspace, ranges, systems, facilities, and equipment), which enables military units to enhance their combat capability at a deployed, combat-oriented operating base and provide training opportunities that cannot be effectively accomplished at the home station. As such, these centers are ideal assets for the Joint National Training Capability. The centers offer an effective mix of live, virtual and constructive simulation training. The Air National Guard continues to pursue National Training Capability certification for these centers and ranges.
It is imperative to the warfighter that the Air Guard maintain its training superiority. As the warfighting transformation and joint operational requirements evolve, it is essential that the airspace and range infrastructure be available to support that training.
Homeland Defense
Air Sovereignty Alert
Since September 11, 2001, thousands of National Guardsmen have been mobilized to operate alert sites and alert support sites for Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) in support of Homeland Defense. Our Air National Guard has partnered with Active Duty and Reserve forces to provide Combat Air Patrol, random patrols, and aircraft intercept protection for large cities and high-valued assets in response to the increased threat of terrorist groups. By the end of fiscal year 2003, Air National Guard units had assumed 16 of 16 North American Air Defense and Northern Command-directed ground alert sites in the Continental United States and 1 of 2 alert site locations outside the United States. While the Air National Guard has assumed the responsibility of all ground alert sites and some irregular Combat Air Patrol periods, Active Duty units have shouldered the burden of all regular “steady-state” Combat Air Patrols. This partnering agreement maximizes our nation’s current basing locations and capitalizes on the high experience levels within the Air National Guard and its professional history in Air Defense operations.
To continue operations at this indefinite pace has posed some unique funding and manning challenges for both the field and headquarters staffs, especially with the looming two-year mobilization limitation and Secretary of Defense’s desire to normalize operations. Beginning mid-November 2003, many Air National Guard personnel began to reach their two years on active duty, causing much concern as to the participation of Air National Guard personnel. With the release of the fiscal year 2004 President’s Budget, the Air National Guard received temporary funds to begin transitioning from a mobilized to a “steady state” force for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. This funding allowed for supporting the ASA mission in a new Continuum of Service active duty or technician status while at the same time it funded many of our facilities, equipment, and MILCON requirements to support the mission long-term. Our goal is to have all alert personnel transitioned from contingency/mobilized to “steady state” Continuum of Service status by March of 2004. As we move into the fiscal year 2006 Program Objective Memoranda exercise, the active Air Force and Air National Guard will continue to work towards a permanent solution for our alert force and advocate with the Office of the Secretary of Defense to incorporate these temporary Continuum of Service tours into steady state programs.
Transformation for the 21st Century
Supporting a “Capabilities Based” Military Force The Air National Guard is a solid partner with the Air Force, the Air Force Reserve, and all collective units of the Department of Defense designed to protect national security and maintain international peace. The Defense Department’s priority is Transformation… and therefore it is the priority of the active services and the reserve components.
Transformation as “relevancy” is dependent on the Air National Guard readiness, in both state and federal missions, being able to support service-apportioned, Joint Chiefs—validated, and Combatant Commander-required “capabilities.” The Air Force is pursuing innovative organizational constructs and personnel policies to meld the various components into a single, unified force. Ongoing shifts in global conflict and U.S. strategy suggest an increasing attention to activities such as homeland defense, nation-building, and others that may require different mixes of capability that are not necessarily resident at sufficient levels in the Active Component alone. This “Future Total Force” integration will create efficiencies, cut costs, ensure stability, retain invaluable human capital, and, above all, increase our combat capabilities. One example of this transformational initiative is the proposed movement of Air National Guard manpower to Langley AFB, an active duty base, from Richmond, an Air National Guard base, with the intent of leveraging the high experience of Guard personnel to improve the combat capability for the active force.
Another transformation effort is to “integrate,” where sensible, units from two or more components into a single Wing with a single commander. Active, Guard, and Reserve personnel share the same facilities and equipment, and together, execute the same mission. This is a level of integration unprecedented in any of the Services. Potential future missions might include Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and their training programs, combining the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle squadrons with their manned fighter counterparts; and integrated fighter squadrons realizing the benefits of highly trained personnel flying legacy systems during the transition period to newer fighter aircraft such as the Joint Strike Fighter. The Air National Guard has been steadily increasing its participation in space operations over the years and already plays a vital role in missile warning, satellite command and control, and launch operations. These contributions will be significant during conflicts envisioned for the future.
These changes confirm and continue the trend in which air and space forces carry a heavier share of the burden in the nation’s wars. The new strategy and force-sizing standard point to an increase, not a decrease, in aerospace power.
Modernizing for the Future
The Air National Guard modernization program is a capabilities-based effort to keep the forces in the field relevant, reliable and ready for any missions tasked by the state or federal authorities. As a framework for prioritization, the modernization program is segmented into three time frames: short-term, the current and next year’s Defense budget; medium-term, out to fiscal year 2015; and long-term, out to fiscal year 2025 and beyond.
As the force structure continues to evolve, the Air Guard can anticipate a continuous process to ensure the forces provide an equivalent capability for Joint and Coalition Forces. The Air National Guard remains an equal partner with the Air and Space Expeditionary Forces that are tasked to meet the future challenges and missions. Because of budget constraints, it is incumbent upon the Air Guard to maximize combat capability for every dollar spent. The Air National Guard includes all aircraft, ground command and control systems, and training and simulation systems in this modernization effort. The requirements necessary to focus this effort must be grounded in clearly defined combat capabilities and missions. The foundation of our future efforts is relevance with reliability and readiness. It is increasingly difficult to keep the Air National Guard legacy systems relevant given the transformation of the Air Force to better, more effective technologies. Systems funding will be a continuous and serious challenge since funding levels continue to fall short of mission requirements. Over the foreseeable future, the Air Force will be stretched to simultaneously fund current operations, modernization, and future research and development projects.
In the near-term, our Modernization Program focuses on the ongoing Global War on Terrorism. Theaters of operations range from domestic efforts, such as fire-fighting, to full partners in overseas efforts, such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The demands of the modern battlefield require the Air Guard weapons systems and crews to have identical or equivalent capability as the joint and coalition forces. The results of the modernization program were graphically demonstrated in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as the Block 25/30/32 F-16s, with their laser designator LITENING II targeting pods, the Enhanced Position Reporting System and Situation Awareness data links became the weapons system of choice for the combatant commanders in both theaters. Once air supremacy was achieved, the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command and active A-10 aircraft became the primary choice in both theaters. We fully expect that future threats will continue to evolve which will require continued modernization across all weapons systems.
Here is a summary of the Air National Guard’s force posture by weapons system:
The A-10 demonstrated its continued relevance in today’s battlefield as the Warthog was the dominant weapon when coalition forces raced for Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rapid integration and installation of the LITENING II laser targeting pod in only a few days and subsequent spectacular precision attacks served as a model for the future of the A-10. Several other limitations were identified to include the need to modernize the aircraft infrastructure through the Precision Engagement program. One particular limitation was the lack of a tactical data link. The leading candidate in the near-term is the Joint Tactical Radio System, with installation scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2005. During 2003, the A-10 modernization program experienced, increased emphasis including an aircraft modification to house the personal locator system, further research into an adequate engine replacement, continued testing of the AN/ALR 69 Radar Warning Receiver, continued COMET infrared countermeasures pod testing, continued acquisition of targeting pods for precision guided munitions, and further work for the Precision Engagement program to upgrade the aircraft avionics continued development and integration.
During 2003, the Air Guard F-16s provided crucial combat capabilities in Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom by using advanced targeting pods funded by the Air National Guard’s Modernization Program for precision-guided munitions. The Commercial Central Interface Unit, Color Multifunctional Displays, the Heads Up Display Advanced Electrical Unit, the Radar Modernized Programmable Signal Processor, the AN/ALR-69 Radar Warning Receiver Antenna Optimization, Situational Awareness Data Link and the Electronic Attack Upgrade were all part of our successful modernization effort. Funding for the Advanced Identify Friend or Foe upgrade was secured along with funding for the final engine upgrade kits. The Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System continued its spiral development to bolster the manned tactical reconnaissance limitation identified by the combatant commanders in every after-action report.
The HC-130 is completing installation of the Forward Looking Infrared system, an essential capability during combat rescue operations. The HC-130 starts integration and installation of the Large Aircraft Infrared Counter Measure system, increasing survivability in face of the ever-increasing threat from hand-held missiles. The HH-60 program started installation of the new M3M .50 caliber door gun, replaced personal equipment for the pararescue jumpers with state-of-the-art weapons and technologies. The initiation of the HH-60 replacement program will begin to slow any further modernization. The Operational Support Aircraft Modernization Program leased two 737 Boeing Business Jets that are supporting current VIP Special Air and Joint Operational Support Airlift operations to improve response for civilian and military senior leaders. A third aircraft will receive full modifications and begin service as the C-40C in September 2004.
The training and simulation systems ensure the personnel on the front line are as ready and relevant as the equipment they use. Over the past year, the Air National Guard has begun the transition to the Distributed Mission Operations capability leveraging 21st century technology with realistic simulation. Useful at every level of training, crews acknowledged the edge they gained through mission rehearsal on the ground prior to some of the more complex missions. Starting with the A-10 and F-16 distributed mission training capable flight simulators, the Air National Guard has begun to transform their approach to combat training. The modernization of the F-15 includes the continued installation of the BOL Infrared countermeasures improvements system, continued delivery of upgraded engine kits and completion of the installation of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Fighter Data Link. The next upgrades include the installation of the new 8 mm recorders, retrofit of a permanent night vision cockpit lighting system, continued integration and purchase of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, and the delivery of the replacement Identify Friend or Foe system. The conversion from the F-15A/B to F-15C/D begins in fiscal year 2005, thereby extending the relevance of the air superiority forces in the Air National Guard.
C-130 enhancements included the multi-command Avionics Modernization Program which upgraded nearly 500 aircraft to a modern, more sustainable cockpit. Additionally, the Air National Guard continued acquisition of the AN/APN-241 Low Power Color Radar, continued installation of the Night Vision Imaging System, and the Air National Guard-driven development of Scathe View to include various technological spin-offs having application in a myriad of civilian and military efforts. Other Air Guard programs include the AN/AAQ-24 (V) Directional Infrared Countermeasures System, propeller upgrades like the Electronic Propeller Control System and NP2000 eight-bladed propeller, and a second generation, upgraded Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System. Additionally, the Air National Guard partnered with the Air Force for the first multiyear buy of the new C-130J aircraft to replace the aging C-130E fleet.
The KC-135 weapons system completed the installation of the cockpit upgrade and continued the engine upgrades to the R-model. The KC-135 continued to be the air bridge for the multiple combat deployments across the globe. Keeping the aging fleet modernized will continue to challenge the Air National Guard as the refueling operations evolve to meet the next mission. It is critical the aging tanker fleet be modernized. The Air National Guard Modernization Program is the key to continuing to field a relevant combat capability, ensuring dominance of American air power for the next 15 to 20 years. We must sustain an open and honest dialogue from the warfighter through Congress, in order to maximize the investment of precious tax dollars. The modernization program is a process, not a goal. Recent combat successes validate that process and serve as a model for future transformation of the United States Air Force.
Land Fleet Supports Air Operations
The Air National Guard Vehicle Priority Buy program cannot keep pace with mission requirements associated with Homeland Security, new Alert sites, Security Force protection, medical evacuation teams and new aircraft conversions.
At the present time, 35 percent of the Air National Guard vehicle fleet is due for replacement, at a cost of approximately $262 million.
The Air National Guard vehicle fleet will continue to age and become more costly to maintain. The less-than-adequate replacement rate coupled with additional requirements to support newly emerging homeland security tasking will severely impact our vehicle readiness.
Military Personnel Transformation—30 Years After “Total Force”
The Air National Guard is partnered with the Air Force in multiple transformation initiatives that will affect the Total Force. These initiatives, tied with the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s new paradigm—Continuum of Service—will necessitate simplifying the processes and rules that are now in place. Continuum of Service is a transformation for personnel management that is needed to acknowledge the changes that have occurred in the way Reserve Component members are now employed in the full range of operational worldwide missions. This transformation will require changes in legislation and the commitment of the military services. Although there is an increased spirit of volunteerism, and retention remains strong despite the increase in calls for federal and state service, a more integrated approach to military personnel management is imperative. The integration that is required presents a challenge in military personnel life cycle management. The Guard’s Directorate of Diversity, Personnel, and Training, the stewards of the force, will ensure Continuum of Service policies have the flexibility to manage the force separately, so Guardmembers have a reasonable opportunity to compete for promotion.
One of the business operations targeted by the Secretary of the Air Force for transformation is the manner in which the Air Force delivers human resource services to its customers. The transformation of these business operations will achieve the Air Force Secretary’s objectives by shifting from the current labor-intensive, transaction-focused customer service delivery system to a “strategic partner” role. The ultimate goal is the creation of a customer-focused, mission-driven Total Force service-based delivery system. The system will be leveraged by technology that provides effective, efficient and timely services, while freeing human resource professionals to advise commanders on the development and management of their personnel. The Air Guard is committed to the Secretary’s vision and goals for Customer Service Transformation while, at the same time, ensuring Air National Guard members have access to the human resource services which are vital to effective career management.
The Air National Guard supports the transformational vision of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force for a more deliberate approach in developing a force development construct. This entails a Total Force concept that incorporates the way the Air Force trains, educates, promotes, and assigns the Total Force—Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilians. The newly published Air Force Policy Directive 36-26 represents a radical departure from the current educational and assignment culture. The newly published directive emphasizes a flexible, capabilities-based, Total Force approach that fulfills the professional and personal expectations of our Airmen, while still meeting mission requirements.
One aspect of the Force Development construct is ensuring implementation of the Air National Guard’s national diversity strategy. The purpose of the diversity strategy is to increase mission readiness in the organization by focusing on workforce diversity and assuring fair and equitable participation for all. Finally, the Air National Guard has developed a Formal Mentoring Initiative that is ready for a nation-wide rollout. This program will be a key component in the professional development of Air National Guard members.
Information Networking for the Total Force
The Air National Guard Enterprise Network is critical to the successful transmission of information within a unit, between units, and among the various states. We are making progress towards modernizing our nationwide information technology network that serves a vital role in homeland security and national defense. A healthy and robust network for reliable, available and secure information technology is essential to federal and state authorities in their ability to exercise command and control of information resources that potentially could impact their various constituencies. The effective functioning of the Air National Guard relies upon a strong interface and interaction within the network to share information at all levels.
The Air National Guard continues to make significant progress in procuring network hardware and personal computer and server software that decreases complexity and increases network communication with Air Force and Department of Defense partners.
The Air National Guard has completed a nationwide consolidation of network servers by consolidating core network services to regional operations centers, and we continue to provide high quality Information Technology services. At the same time, we continue to reduce redundant and obsolete systems and programs.
The current initiative to provide better communications to our warfighters is our initial roll-out of Microsoft’s Active Directory Services. These services will provide enhanced security and broader communications capabilities to our users, and more closely integrate our network with Air Force and other Service networks, thereby increasing both security and communications capability. We hope to fund the remaining roll-out in fiscal year 2004 and begin follow-on programs that will reduce the time required to maintain server and desktop hardware, as well as help manage the software upgrades and security patches so critical to our network’s security.
Greater emphasis must be placed on maturing the Air National Guard Enterprise Network. The rapidly changing hardware and software requirements of our warfighting and combat support functions come with a significant cost to upgrade and maintain a fully capable Information Technology network. The Air Guard network has typically been supported at the same level it was during the 1990s. Without a significant infusion of new technology, all other Air National Guard mission areas will be less than fully capable of executing their missions. This modernization initiative will certainly enhance the Air National Guard’s interoperability with other federal and state agencies.
Preserving Facility Operations
Air National Guard Civil Engineering is proud of its management record of constraining infrastructure and operating costs while providing quality installations responsive to the nation’s needs. This focused business concept limits direct investment to core responsibilities to better balance component, service, and department resources with other risk areas. Civil Engineering demonstrates the balance between cost-effective and responsive infrastructure by operating a lean facility plant, relying on contractors for most facility work, and leveraging with the states and the traditional Guard member structure to reduce costs.
Facility space at the typical Air National Guard installation averages only 350,000 square feet constrained to operational, training and administrative space on 150 acres of leased property. Air National Guard installations do not have the extensive support facilities typically present on active component bases, such as dormitories, golf courses, family housing, hospitals, child-care facilities, schools, youth centers, commissaries or main exchanges. Instead, Guard members leverage this quality of life support through the community. Additional cost containment is realized by the joint-use of runways and taxiways that are typically owned by the local civilian airport authority and by property leases at nominal or no cost. A small federal workforce of 7 to 10 predominantly civilian employees executes the facility operations and maintenance program through a contract and state employee workforce. This small fulltime workforce is built around the Base Civil Engineer, an assistant, a facility manager and a production controller. About 15 state employees provide maintenance service for day-to-day requirements while larger non-routine maintenance, repair and construction, where most investment is made, are accomplished through contracts as needed. Twenty-four state employee firefighters provide crash, fire and rescue service when not provided by the local civilian airport authority.
Base operational costs are further leveraged by state contributions. Specifically, states are required to provide matching funds for services such as utilities, custodial, trash, grounds maintenance and snow removal. This contribution typically ranges between 15 and 25 percent of the total cost of the requirement. Additionally, Civil Engineer and Services “outsource” its military capability, with personnel fulfilling traditional part-time roles, and thus avoiding full-time costs except when needed for wartime or deployment requirements. The Air National Guard Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force or PrimeBEEF force has been covering 30 percent of the total Air Force engineering wartime and deployment requirement, while the Prime Readiness in Base Services or Prime RIBS team has been covering 40 percent of these requirements.
Civil Engineer management controls costs to help keep the Air National Guard and its military presence in the community. National Guard facilities and personnel assigned to local units are the primary connection most Americans have with the military since a large number of active duty bases were closed during the 1990s. This community presence provides cost-effective platforms for recruitment and retention by being close to where Guard members work and live. Correspondingly, the Air Guard’s efficient infrastructure and management structure helps the National Guard and the Department of Defense to balance resources with other areas of risk as they continue to transform military capabilities.
Redesigning Financial Management Systems
The Air National Guard Financial Management community is actively participating in the coordination of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Business Management Modernization Program and the Air Force Financial Management Transformation efforts.
This will ensure our future systems and procedures comply with the Defense Business Enterprise Architecture. The Air Guard’s efforts include:
• Adopting standard business practices and systems to enhance the accountability and accuracy of financial management transactions; and,
• Replacement of non-compliant financial management systems with web applications that fully support the defense architecture and the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990.
This is particularly evidenced by our efforts to transform and modernize the management of the Air National Guard Military Personnel Appropriation through the future implementation of the Reserve Order Writer System, a candidate to become a joint system that will bring the latest advances in technology and military orders information to Guardsmembers in the convenience of their homes around the clock.
Conclusion
The Air National Guard will continue to defend the nation in the War on Terrorism while transforming for the future. We will do this across the full spectrum of operations in both the Expeditionary and Homeland Defense missions. The Air National Guard will also continue to leverage our militia culture and linkage to the community that is vital to our nation. The men and women of the Air Guard are currently serving proudly in the far corners of the globe—and here at home—and will do so with distinction with the necessary tools to protect our freedoms.
