Proposal to halt Air Force cuts has support

[unhappycamper]

Proposal to halt Air Force cuts has support
By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes,
Pacific edition, Friday, September 28, 2007

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A proposal floated this week to halt further Air Force personnel cuts in 2008 “makes sense” because of the high level of interaction among the services, the senior U.S. military representative in Japan said Wednesday.

In 2002, Air Force leaders announced a plan to cut 40,000 personnel and use the money saved to improve the service’s aging air fleet.

However, in a Sept. 19 speech at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, D.C., Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne announced that the plan “is not working” and further reductions would be unsound.

“Everyone ought to applaud the secretary’s view,” said Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, the U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force commander. “He’s not making statements that apply only to the Air Force; they’re statements that are important to our ability as war fighters across the military.”

The comments also stand as “important reassurance” that the Defense Department’s civilian leaders are committed to maintaining force structure for all servicemembers to be able to perform their duties, Wright added.

“His recent expressed concern ... shows they’re engaged on our behalf,” he said. “They want to ensure we have the force structure we need. Today in Iraq, Afghanistan and even in this region, with large-standing militaries that are modernizing ... all fights are joint fights.”


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49076