ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — The Department of Defense budget request for fiscal year 2016 includes a number of proposed changes for the Air Force Reserve.
If enacted into law, the DOD budget request would restore 2,100 manpower positions to the Air Force Reserve and increase the Air Force Reserve’s presence in a number of mission areas.
“The budget request ensures the Air Force Reserve will remain an integrated, flexible and combat-ready force,” said Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson, Chief of the Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command. “The additional manpower will allow the Air Force Reserve to support Air Force requirements in new and existing missions in the F-35, F-16, C-17, ISR and Cyber.”
Jackson also noted that the Air Force Reserve is still addressing some of the previously announced force structure changes.
“The Air Force, in conjunction with the recommendations of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, will finalize its mission area and force composition analysis in the coming months,” he said. “Decisions on Reserve basing of C-130s at Pope Field, Keesler Air Force Base, and Little Rock Air Force Base are delayed until the Air Force meets the requirements established by Congress in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.”
Jackson also explained that if the Air Force divests A-10s at Moody AFB, Georgia, the Air Force Reserve’s classic associate unit, the 476th Fighter Group, will inactivate in 2016.
“Our A-10 units at Whiteman AFB and Davis-Monthan AFB will continue to fly the A-10 until 2019, when they will transition to F-16s,” he said. “There are also opportunities with the F-35 at Luke AFB and Hill AFB.”
According to Jackson, the 610th Security Forces Squadron at Naval Air Station JRB Fort Worth, Texas, will be inactivated.
“The vast majority of our people serve locally on a part-time basis, and force structure changes pose significant challenges for Reservists,” said Jackson. “I will ensure that Reserve leaders at every level are doing everything they can to help Reservists through the transition.”
