Are Air Force personnel (military&civilian) safe from being downsized?

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 22:51:36 -0400

Heard that the Army has to let go of 40,000 troops and the civilian personnel will be downsized as well in the next few years. They are looking at releasing 17,000 civilian personnel. I wanted to know from my fellow airmen and those who work for the AF, are Air Force personnel safe for now?

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2015 10:58 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 22:58:43 -0400

I hope that you do not experience the same kind of cuts that we are experiencing in the Army. I have not heard anything personally about Air Force cuts.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Jul 10 at 2015 11:04 PM

SSG Trevor S. — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:04:31 -0400

Don't let youself think nothing will come later. I hope it all stops soon.

Response by SMSgt Garry Ledford made Jul 10 at 2015 11:37 PM

SMSgt Garry Ledford — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:37:50 -0400

Don't forget that USAF airlift is tied to the number of USA units. I had to retire in 2012 due to HYT changes due to funding cutbacks.

Response by Maj Mike Sciales made Jul 10 at 2015 11:49 PM

Maj Mike Sciales — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:49:43 -0400

The USAF manpower office keeps the numbers dictated by Congress. I wouldn't expect any big cuts.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jul 11 at 2015 12:25 AM

COL Charles Williams — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 00:25:54 -0400

No branches are safe from downsizing. Sgt Private RallyPoint Member. The military size ebbs and flows with the events of the world... Check out the size of Army or Air Force thru the years. Downsizing is not a new event. The DOD is the largest part of the Federal Discretionary Budget, which means it is subject to budget cuts, when budget cuts are in order. That said, the USAF was downsizing when the Army was growing.
http://index.heritage.org/militarystrength/chapter/us-power/us-air-force/

U.S. Air Force - 2015 Index of U.S. Military Strength

The U.S. Air Force provides military dominance in the air, space, and cyberspace domains that enables the Joint Force to quickly project power anywhere in the world at any time. The Air Force holds that it must be able to respond rapidly to contingencies and be the first force in the fight.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jul 11 at 2015 1:45 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 01:45:04 -0400

Nobody is safe when budget cuts are sweeping the military.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 11 at 2015 4:49 AM

PO1 John Miller — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 04:49:53 -0400

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member, as everyone else has stated no one is safe when it comes to military cutbacks.

With that said, I hope I'm safe from being downsized! I work for a government contractor supporting the Air National Guard.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 11:40 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:40:28 -0400

No....you are always subject to rollback....which yet another reason why you do not want to remain stagnant in one rank for two long.....we have been moving more and more towards an up or out force over the last 10 years and if spending cuts continue so will this trend.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 11:41 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:41:49 -0400

The Air Force attempted to make all their personnel cuts in '13 and '14 Sgt Private RallyPoint Member. And recently Deborah Lee James (Secretary of the Air Force) and General Mark Welsh (Chief of Staff AF) went on record saying that the Air Force had gotten, "too small" in the last round of personnel cuts.

So while we aren't on the chopping block again yet, and we hope not to be, we still keep one eye on the situation because as we all know: "unlikely is not the same thing as impossible" and it could easily happen again for the Air Force.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 4:39 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 16:39:33 -0400

I asked this questions because I just got selected for an Air Force Govt job which I waited so long to get back to. The last thing I want to worry about for now is last one in first one out. But I won't get too comfortable but I will prove I am worth keeping around.

Response by Maj Kim Patterson made Jul 11 at 2015 5:52 PM

Maj Kim Patterson — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 17:52:40 -0400

In my experience, no arm of the service is safe from cuts. When I went to my first tech school, there were a bunch of freshly minted 2LTs with new cars and ink drying on their diplomas. It was during a period of downsizing and there were several tests (written and operational) where failure meant your time in the USAF was over. For me, it was pretty motivating. I did not want to go back to what I left behind. I'm old enough to have watched the military grow and shrink more than once. Where at one time, if you joined and performed, you could count on a career, I see no promise of anything currently.

Response by MSgt Richey Leamer made Jul 12 at 2015 6:34 PM

MSgt Richey Leamer — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 18:34:47 -0400

Cuts will happen, but do you notice that basic training never slows down? They cut career military, and lose experience, to save money. Meanwhile the mission suffers...

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2015 7:22 PM

SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 19:22:10 -0400

Services will always adjust to meet Congressional end-strengths...Google "NDAA 2016" and you can read the bills passed by HASC and SASC yourself...increase to USAF but how that is applied will be determined by USAF IAW National Strategy

Response by Lt Col Alex Thagard made Jul 14 at 2015 8:31 PM

Lt Col Alex Thagard — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 20:31:22 -0400

We are in the middle of a cycle that has occurred after every major war starting in World War II. With the [supposed] end to 2 major wars, the military will start to correct itself. It will do this by cutting budgets and personnel. The last time this happened was after desert storm in 1991 thru 1995. As always, the military will over correct. We are still on downturn that should last about 2 more years. Then the military will yell "Wait! We cut too deep! Bring people back in." This should be a lot better by 2018.