Air Force Times February 23, 2004
AEF Schedule Back On Track
But extended deployments could continue for airmen in high-demand career fields
By Gordon Trowbridge, Times Staff Writer
For the vast majority of airmen, the Air Forces expeditionary structure finally is returning to normal. Ninety days away from home, a year to recover just like old times.
But for thousands of troops, overseas deployments will continue to mean as long as six months gone and short recovery time meaning strain on units and families, and worries for the Air Force.
Extended tours will continue to be a rock in my shoe,said Brig. Gen. Anthony Przybyslawski, commander of the Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Its going to continue.
Those longer tours are the shadow on a generally improving deployment outlook for the rest of 2004, Przybyslawski told Air Force Times.
According to the AEF chief, airmen should look for:
*The return, for most troops, to the 90-day, 15-month cycle broken in early 2003 by surge deployments for the war in Iraq.
In the aftermath of major combat operations last summer, the Air Force established two 120-day rotations to bridge the gap between the surge and a return to the standard deployment cycle. As scheduled, the second transitional period ends this month, with AEFs 7 and 8 the same deployment forces on the ground at the beginning of the Iraq surge sent on 90-day deployments.
*Continued longer deployments for those unlucky airmen in career fields where demand exceeds supply.
Among career fields on the list: security forces, civil engineering, communications and intelligence, and some new ones, such as transportation.
*A fairly steady and sustainable demand for combat aircraft units, but continued, even increasing, strain on combat-support troops as the Air Force continues to operate a string of bases in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
*The hope that some of those bases will close or shrink in significance later this year, reducing deployment demands for AEFs 9 and 10, kicking off in June, and for future rotations.
We just dont have enough
As of early February, about 11 percent of the roughly 17,600 airmen who will deploy for AEFs 7 and 8 beginning next month were scheduled for deployments of more than 90 days, Przybyslawski said. That figure is likely to grow as the AEF Center completes its work.
Its the standard story,he said. From security forces to civil engineers to intelligence, he said, we just dont have enough, and thats been since [Operation Enduring Freedom].
Rotating combat airplanes, pilots and maintainers, he said, is the easy part of the puzzle. But the combat-support picture has become increasingly complex.
The pendulum is swinging from aviation to expeditionary combat support,Przybyslawski said.
Partly, thats due to helping out a sister service: The Air Force will provide about 2,000 troops in fields such as transportation and civil engineering to help reduce strain on the Army.
A bigger factor, Przybyslawski said, is basing. Though U.S. Central Command has closed or shrunk operations at a number of bases in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, he said basing in the Middle East hasnt come down as quickly as planners anticipated.
Once the U.S. military has a base, it doesnt like to give it up,said Patrick Garrett, an analyst for GlobalSecurity.org.
In the short term, operating more air bases gives commanders wider options for airlift and other operations. Start closing them down, and youve got more traffic running out of fewer bases,he said. Thats a problem the more air bases, the more difficult it is for terrorists to home in on one base.
Staying ready for a challenge
As the extended deployments continue, Przybyslawski said maintaining readiness becomes a greater challenge if time away eats into time training, repairing equipment and upgrading skills.
Its a huge concern,said Przybyslawski, who said the AEF Center has stressed to commanders the need to monitor and accurately report readiness. The center also has worked to coordinate readiness fixes across the force, getting data on equipment shortages and, when necessary, encouraging shipments from units in need to those with surpluses.
Commanders also may need to take steps to free up manpower for deployment. An experienced, knowledgeable wing commander, for example, might decide to close down a base gate, reducing stress on security troops, he said.
Przybyslawski acknowledged that more serious measures have been discussed, though are not yet needed. If the Air Force gets a request it cant fulfill through normal means, he said, whats to keep corporate Air Force from saying, Lets look at ConUS basing,he said. Officials have even discussed the possibility of halting flight operations at one or more U.S. bases, consolidating those operations to reduce the need for support personnel.
Its an option to share the pain level,he said. It has been discussed, but we havent had to. Przybyslawski said hes optimistic that deployment requirements will come down before such steps become necessary.
[Central Command Air Forces] is optimistic of reducing the requirementsfor AEFs 9 and 10, he said. They are coming up with better, smarter basing schemes, and the Army is looking to consolidate, as well.
© Copyright 2004, Air Force Times
