Reserve may request 7,000 more airmen

[unhappycamper]

Reserve may request 7,000 more airmen
By Sam LaGrone - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 14, 2008 7:48:40 EDT

While Air Force leadership said it was committed to adding 13,000 more active-duty airmen by the end of 2010, the Air Force Reserve is bracing for a request to add about half that to its end strength.

Defense Department programmers had discussed requesting 7,000 more reserve airmen during a resources discussion ahead of their budget request for fiscal 2010.

But it’s unclear whether such a request will make it in the final budget proposal handed to Congress in February.

In the past three years, the reserve was forced to cut 7,600 airmen as part of the larger Air Force’s drawdown of 40,000 airmen. Most of those cuts weren’t related to the reserve’s flight missions.

Whatever airmen the reserve recovers will not be a direct replacement to the 7,600 that were lost as a result of the drawdown. Instead, they’ll be tasked with filling emerging roles, said Maj. Gen. Allan R. Poulin, vice commander at Air Force Reserve headquarters, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., in an interview Oct. 7.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/10/airforce_reserve_endstrength_101308/%2e