Vol. 74, No. 11 Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. Friday, March 18, 2016 INSIDE AFMC strategic plan to help Sequestration poses biggest threat to carry Air Force to Third Offset readiness, Stacey Geiger military leaders Air Force Materiel Command say Public Affairs Page 2 WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Agility and innovation are cornerstones of a new Air Force Materiel Command strategic plan that AFSC/LG will deliver war-winning capabilities. Those capabilities deputy retires will propel the Air Force as Page 2 a key element of the future national defense strategy known as the Third Offset. The first “offset” came in the 1950s when the United States looked to tactical nuclear Are you weapons to deter, or offset, Air Force photo by Jim Haseltine prepared? large, conventional forces in Western Europe. The second Lt. Col. George Watkins, 34th Fighter Squadron commander, drops a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb from Base officials an F-35A at the Utah Test and Training Range Feb. 25. The 34th FS is the Air Force’s first combat unit offset came in the 1970s when to employ munitions from the F-35A. offer weather, the Soviet Union achieved active shooter nuclear parity and the U.S. to leverage new technologies autonomous systems and satellite networks, cyber bugs preparedness sought an advantage by turning to offset advances made by human-machine networks. A that infect and take down tips to precision-guided weapons. adversaries in recent years. battlespace of the year 2030 adversaries’ computers and The Third Offset is the It will draw on technologies could see F-35s or a next- Pages 8-9 Department of Defense strategy such as artificial intelligence, generation aircraft linked by See Plan page 5. Tinker Events Calendar Page 1b Visit us online at Air Force photo by Albert Bright www.tinker.af.mil Air Force Materiel Command’s 2015 Annual Excellence Award winners from the Air Force Sustainment Center gather with ASFC lead- ership after the awards ceremony March 9 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. From left are AFSC Command Chief Master Sgt. Jason L. France; Master Sgt. Brian Partido, from Tinker’s 72nd Medical Group, winner of the First Sergeant Category; Tech. Sgt. Kasmir Alford, from Tinker’s 72nd Medical Support Squadron, winner of the Non-Commissioned Officer Category; Steven Smith, from the 78th Civil Engineering Group at Robins AFB, Ga., winner of the Civilian Category I; Maj. David Jarnot, from the 75th Medical Support Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah, winner of the Field Grade Officer Category; and AFSC Commander Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II. Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ Four AFSC people among command award winners tinkerairforcebase Air Force Materiel Command Four members of the Air Force Ga. — are among those who were honored. Public Affairs Sustainment Center — Tech. Sgt. Kasmir Fifty-eight Airmen from throughout A. Alford, 72nd Medical Support Squadron; AFMC’s headquarters, centers and wings WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE Master Sgt. Brian S. Partido, 72nd Medical were nominated to compete in nine separate BASE, Ohio — Air Force Materiel Group; Maj. David R. Jarnot, 75th categories — airman, non-commissioned Command honored its top Airmen of 2015 Medical Support Squadron, Hill Air Force officer, senior NCO, first sergeant, company Follow us on Twitter during the command’s Annual Excellence Base, Utah; Steven L. Smith, 78th Civil grade officer, field grade officer, civilian @Team_Tinker Awards Banquet March 9. Engineering Group, Robins Air Force Base, See Winners page 3. 2 — www.TinkerTakeOff.com — March 18, 2016 Sequestration poses biggest threat to readiness, military leaders say Lisa Ferdinando the resources for deployed forces and supports continued DOD News, Defense Media Activity readiness recovery efforts. “This submission also contains the hard choices and WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The biggest challenge to the tradeoffs we made to achieve future warfighting capability,” military’s readiness is sequestration, military leaders said she said. March 15 on Capitol Hill. Sequestration is a provision of the Budget Control Act Marines ready to fight of 2011 that imposes across-the-board spending cuts if For the Marine Corps, members are ready to fight and are Col. Jeff Meserve Congress and the White House cannot agree on more forward deployed around the world for crisis response, the targeted cuts aimed at reducing the budget deficit. assistant commandant of the Marine Corps told the Senate The uncertain and restrictive budget environment is panel. Maintaining that stance requires carefully allocating forcing the Army to make tough choices, the vice chief of limited funds and working around budget limitations, Gen. AFSC/LG staff of the Army, Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, told the Senate John M. Paxton Jr. said. Armed Services Committee. “In our challenging fiscal environment we’re struggling deputy retires Allyn and his counterparts from the Navy, Air Force and to maintain all of those balances,” he added. Marine Corps spoke at a hearing on the current state of The Marine Corps is no longer in a healthy position to Kimberly Woodruff readiness of U.S. forces. generate current readiness and simultaneously reset all of Staff Writer “We must have … predictable and sustained funding its equipment while sustaining its facilities and modernizing to deliver the readiness that our combatant commanders to ensure future readiness, Paxton said. “The strains on our Col. Jeff Meserve, deputy director require to meet the missions that continue to emerge,” Allyn personnel and equipment are showing in many areas,” he told of Logistics with the Air Force said. the senators, “particularly in aviation, in communications Sustainment Center, is retiring. The Army is accepting considerable risk by reducing its and intelligence.” The colonel, who has been stationed end strength while deferring modernization programs and at Tinker twice, has some advice for infrastructure investments, he said. Investments needed in Air Force the new deputy. “For the United States Army, our No. 1 readiness risk is Sequestration was felt throughout the Air Force, the “There’s a ton of issues that you’ll sequestration,” he said. The other service leaders echoed service’s vice chief of staff, Gen. David L. Goldfein, said. be dealing with, a mile wide, a mile that sentiment about their respective branches. “We also broke faith with our airmen, especially our deep,” he said. “Don’t get comfortable civilian airmen,” he said. “When they were furloughed, we in one area because there are numerous Ripple effect of sequestration lost a number of them who decided that if the company was challenges that LG helps the Center The vice chief of naval operations, Navy Adm. Michelle not invested in them, they were not going to stick with the work through.” Howard, said the Navy can maintain a ready fleet through a company.” LG essentially serves as the A2-A10 stable budget and being able to procure and maintain ships The threat of sequestration must be removed, Goldfein staff for AFSC, including operations with certainty. said. Investments are needed in the service, he added, noting and logistics integration, industrial and Howard said she was in the fleet during a round of that the current Air Force is one of the smallest, oldest and operational supply chain management, sequestration. Deployments were canceled and maintenance least ready in its history. nuclear sustainment integration, periods were shifted, she noted. “The fiscal year 17 budget reflects our best effort to process standardization, plans and “The ripple effect of that goes through the years,” the balance capability, capacity and readiness under the topline programming, installations support, admiral said. “You not only lose the maintenance time, but we’ve received,” he said. “We made difficult trades between communications and IT integration, you lose qualification time for people, and that experience readiness today and the critical investment required to the colonel said. set can never be bought back.” modernize for the future against potential adversaries who “It’s an awesome organization,” Howard said the fiscal year 2017 budget request provides continue to close the technological gap.” Colonel Meserve said. “We took the best of many organizations within AFSC to build the LG staff — two- thirds of the LG team came from AF continues to pursue total force integration elements of the AFMC staff and the AF Global Logistics Support Center Secretary of the Air Force and operationally indistinguishable and is located in Dayton Ohio. We Public Affairs from the active force,” said Air Force have a great team in Dayton and here Secretary Deborah Lee James. “This in Oklahoma City.” WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air maximizes our total force and secures He said transitioning the elements of Force continues to make strides toward (our) top priorities of taking care of AFSC from three air logistics centers, total force integration, according to an people, balancing today’s readiness a supply chain center and three air annual report submitted to Congress with tomorrow’s modernization, and base wings to working together under March 4. making every dollar count.” one center commander for the first The report is based on An important part of integration time ever was, and will continue to recommendations from the National is having and employing the same be, a big challenge. The supply chain Commission on the Structure of the equipment. The fielding of the KC-46 community had a head start with the Air Force and focuses on how the Pegasus and F-35 Lightning II is one AFGLSC, but the global integration force structure should be modified example of the service’s commitment to AF-wide has gone to a whole new to best fill current and future mission concurrent and proportional fielding of level, he said. requirements, an area Air Force component force-mix options and new equipment and technology.