Air Force's top leader discusses Reserve future

by Master Sgt. Shawn J. Jones
Air Force Reserve Recruiting Service Public Affairs

8/27/2014 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Citizen Airmen have an advocate at the very top of Air Force.

During a visit to Robins Air Force Base, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James discussed several issues related to the Air Force Reserve's future.

As the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard continue to grow in proportion to the overall Air Force, greater integration and collaboration among active-duty and reserve component Airmen is expected, James said.

The Air Force faces a very tight budget environment, which is forcing officials to seek cost efficiencies wherever possible while maintaining the readiness to provide airpower when the nation calls. The Air Reserve Components are uniquely positioned to answer that call on an as-needed basis with combat-ready, cost-effective Airmen who do not require year-round, full-time pay and benefits.

The merits of the reserve components aren't news to James, who previously served as the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs from 1993 to 1998. During her visit to Robins, the secretary visited several units, including Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command.

"Nobody has to convince me," James said. "I'm already there when it comes to the value the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve bring to our Total Force."

In order to capitalize on Guard and Reserve cost-effectiveness, the Air Force is conducting a mission-by-mission analysis to determine what can be moved from the active component into the reserve components.

"We're going to lean forward and place as much as we possibly can in the Guard and Reserve," James said.

Approximately 80 percent of the analysis will be complete by the year's end, she said.

The increase in the Reserve mission set will be accompanied by an increase in the integration between full-time and part-time Airmen. Over the past few years, the number of associate units, in which active-duty and Reserve Airmen serve side-by-side, has climbed from 102 to 124. James said she doesn't want to stop there.

"I think we need to kick it up a notch and do more," she said.

Air Force officials are exploring new creative integration models, and James said she expects staffs at all levels, from the major commands down to individual flights, to be integrated where appropriate.

She said it is especially important for senior-ranking Airmen to understand both the active and reserve models of service, and that eventually, candidates to serve as the Air Force chief of staff will have had assignments and experiences that were heavily involved with the Guard and Reserve.

The secretary also raised the topic of career mobility in the active and the reserve component.

"We care about having the best talent in our Air Force, and whether that talent resides in the active duty, or the Guard or the Reserve, it almost doesn't matter to us," she said. "The point is that we capture such talent and retain such talent for our Air Force going forward."

While it is currently possible for Airmen to move from one status to another, the secretary said a number of policies, processes and laws stand in the way, complicating the transition.

"It's not as seamless as it ought to be," she said.

Air Force officials are looking to recommend changes to some of the policies and laws.

"I would estimate over the next year or so we will have very specific proposals to put forward," James said.