Air Force Association Budget Control Act 2011 Impact on our Air Force 1
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The Set Up 1996 Last time the NDAA and Defense budget process completed before Oct 1 USG Debt in 2010 - $14,025,215,218,708.52. 7 months for the National Debt to increase from $13 trillion on June 1, 2010 to $14 trillion on Dec. 31. Defense Budget - $663.7 billion (+12.7% of total spending)
Budget Control Act 2011 Enacted August 2, 2011 Effort to resolve a Debt-Ceiling Crisis Approximately $1 Trillion in discretionary spending cuts over 10 years Split between Defense/Security and Non- Defense 50% of cut targeted Defense which was 13% of the total budget 4
Air Force Aircraft Air Force in 25 Years of Decline 1991 8,637 A/C 2017 5,517 A/C Personnel 1991 846,000 2017 664,000 (Active, Reserve, Guard, and civilians) Combat Coded Fighter Squadrons 1991 134 2017 55 Cold War Force Sequestration Force 5
Sequestration s Immediate Impact BCA 2011 impact hit hard in Summer 2013 Large, immediate cuts Readiness dropped to levels almost as low as early 1980s (Hollow Force) Stood down flying squadrons for more than three months and canceled needed exercises Deferred aircraft & depot mx Deferred infrastructure repairs Delayed critical modernization Broke faith with civilian Airmen with Furlough
Work Arounds Overseas Contingency Operations OCO plus-up ranged from $80B to $59B in 2017 Supports cost of war effort in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere Includes some readiness funding to prepare for OCO deployments and readiness Omnibus Bills 2014 and 2016 authorized spending above BCA Caps for two year periods-did not remove the BCA Caps however
Result Manpower critical to capability, particularly Depot Maintenance Man-hours lost to Sequestration 180,000 Civilians 22 day furlough planned Early Retirements granted Experience personnel retired and replace by lesser experienced personnel Education and Training funding reduced
Result Thousands of Air Force Civilians work at the Air Force Depots, furloughs caused work stoppage Total Depot Personnel Furloughed 36,136 Hill AFB Personnel Furloughed 10,303 Robins AFB Personnel Furloughed 12,443 Tinker AFB Personnel Furloughed 13,390 Air Force lost 7.8 million man-hours of productivity affecting every mission area
Result Aircraft availability reflects the capability to conduct air operations and are a barometer of capability F-16 M/C Rate 2011 74.05% 2015 73.04% B-1 M/C Rate 2011 53.16% 2015 47.48% KC-135 M/C Rate 2011 79.57% 2015 75.16% E-3 M/C Rate 2011 71.12% 2015 75.76%
Result Today s Air Force is the smallest, oldest and least ready Less than 50% of the combat coded Air Force is ready for full-spectrum operations Air Force is 4,000 maintenance airmen short across the service Air Force is 4,000 maintainers short Vs the requirement and it increases every month as the F-35 fleet grows. Impacts every aircraft in the Air Force fleet
Result Effort to control Federal Debt was a ineffective 2012 Federal Debt: $16,066,241,407,385.89 2013 Federal Debt: $16,738,183,526,697.32 2014 Federal Debt: $17,824,071,380,733.82 2015 Federal Debt: $18,150,617,666,484.33 Projected 2016 Federal Debt: $19,300,000,000,000+ Federal Debt has increased over 27% in the five years for the BCA
Result USAF Aircraft 2011: Total Force 5,584 A/C USAF Aircraft 2016: Total Force 5,433 A/C USAF Personnel 2011: 688,000 Active, Civilian, Reserve, Guard USAF Personnel 2016: 658,000 Active, Civilian, Reserve, Guard
Result Federal Debt since 2011 increased $3.2T Air Force Fleet size decreased 151 A/C Air Force personnel decreased 30K Air Force full spectrum readiness is at less than 50%
Result The effort was aimed at controlling our massive Federal Debt but. Federal Debt 2011 - $14,790,340,328,557.15 DOD Base Budget 2011 $548.9 billion Federal Debt 2015 - $18,150,617,666,484.33 DOD Base Budget 2015 - $560.4 billion Federal Debt 2016 - $19 trillion + Sequestration was intended to be medicine for skyrocketing Federal Debt When the medicine is ineffective should it be continued?
Twenty Five Years of War Desert Storm Began Jan 17 1991 Air Force never left Southwest Asia Deployed for and conducting Combat Operations every day since Aug 9, 1991 Areas of operation included, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen Multiple Humanitarian efforts Airpower now the key to almost all campaigns
Twenty Five Years of War BUT Defense spending is straining capability for mission success Budget Control Act of 2011 Sequestration cuts mandated for 10 years In 2013 Air Force had to make severe cuts and ultimately stood down and laid off thousands of civilian employees. Depots hit hardest
A Turbulent World Demand is increasing capability advantage over competitors is shrinking, RISK is increasing Airpower primary response against ISIS in the Middle East while still heavily engaged in Afghanistan Russia aggressive and muscular in Ukraine Nuclear and belligerent North Korea China flexing power in the Pacific Competitors closing gap in space, cyber, strategic deterrence fielding advanced air defenses & their own 5th generation aircraft Air Force is one of the busiest, smallest, oldest and least ready fleets in our history
Road Ahead Air Force is a major contributor in on-going combat operations US Armed Forces commitment to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and others areas is growing F-35, KC-46, B-21 funding competing every year for readiness funding An already tired Air Force has no relief in the near future and beyond 700 to 1,000 Fighter Pilot shortage now and forecasted for next five years
Road Ahead No change apparent to the BCA 2011 law Sequestration still in existence for 5 more years OCO Plus up and Omnibus Bills to reset the Defense budget likely to continue Air Force must modernize and conduct combat operations in an uncertain budget environment A return to Sequester Budget Caps in 2018 will be devastating
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