Ayotte: Air Force Commission's Report is Good News for Pease

Submitted by the Office of U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte: 

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said that a report issued yesterday showing that Reservists and Guardsmen cost the Air Force and taxpayers less money – while maintaining the same standards and operational readiness – is good news for Guard units like the New Hampshire Air National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing.

Congress established the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act to “undertake a comprehensive study of the structure of the Air Force to determine whether, and how, the structure should be modified to best fulfill current and anticipated mission requirements for the Air Force in a manner consistent with available resources.”

The commission’s report, which was released Thursday, concludes that moving approximately 36,600 Air Force personnel from the Active Component to the Guard or Reserve would save “perhaps $2 billion per year.”  The report acknowledges that “some missions must be performed by the Active Component” but that “the Air Force can, and should, entrust as many missions as possible to the Reserve Component forces.”

“This data-driven report confirms that Air Force Reservists and Guardsmen perform at the same level as the active component, but at a lower cost,” said Senator Ayotte, a member of the Armed Services Committee. “We need to find savings in the defense budget wherever we can, and I call on the Air Force to give the report full consideration – particularly the commission’s recommendation to shift some missions and personnel to the Guard and Reserve in order to retain capability while saving taxpayer money.”

The commission recommends the Air Force adjust its force structure from 69 percent Active and 31 percent Reserve to 58 percent active and 42 percent Reserve. To accomplish this force mix, the commission recommends shifting 36,600 personnel from the Active Component to the Reserve Component.  The commission concludes that such a reform could yield approximately $2 billion per year in savings. 14,100 personnel would go from the Active Component to the Air Force Reserve, and 22,500 personnel would go from the Active Component to the Air National Guard.

The report concludes that transitioning missions from the Active Component to less-expensive part-time Reservists would save money “in the military personnel accounts that can be put to use in readiness, modernization, and recapitalization accounts.”

The commission’s final report (page 46) includes an excerpt of remarks by Lt Col Ryan Samuelson, the former commander of Pease’s 64th Air Refueling Squadron.  The 64th Air Refueling Squadron is an active associate unit within Pease’s 157th Air Refueling Wing, and Lt Col Samuelson is an active duty officer.  In his remarks, he detailed what he learned serving with the Guard at Pease, praised the performance of the Guard, and noted that the Guard provides “roughly 33 percent of the Air Force’s capability at 7 percent of the budget…”