National Guard needed now more than ever, Air Force secre | AirForceTimes

“Our active duty force today is the smallest it has ever been since we became a separate service in the year 1947,” the secretary said. “Our active duty end strength is 200,000 people fewer than it was back in the 1990s.”

With such a reduction in end strength, communication and cooperation between the different parts of the Air Force has become key in meeting all mission demands, James said.

“We are making ends meet with this much smaller force precisely because today’s Air Force is more integrated across the active duty, the National Guard and Reserve,” she said. “We are asking more of you, we are utilizing your talents more now than ever before, and I would say that’s precisely because we need you now more than even we did before.”