Lawmakers need to hear more from the Department of the Air Force about its plans for its biggest reorganization in many years.
The department in February announced a sweeping shake-up of the Air Force and Space Force to higher prepare them for a possible conflict with China, which the department calls a “reoptimization for nice power competition.”
The changes would come with the creation of an Integrated Capabilities Command, led by a three-star general, which might take charge of identifying the Air Force’s future requirements. The Air Force would also revamp some existing organizations similar to Air Combat Command in addition to Air Education and Training Command; shift how airmen, units and equipment deploy; and improve training.
But in a summary of the compromise version of the fiscal 2024 Defense Appropriations Act, publicly released Thursday, lawmakers said the Air Force hasn’t thoroughly explained why the reorganization is vital, how the service would implement it and what budget is required. Lawmakers say they need such information to properly assess the department’s plans.
The bill would require Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to elucidate any organizational changes to congressional defense committees, 30 days before they go into effect. Lawmakers would also want Kendall to elucidate how such a change would differ from the present structure; a breakdown of the phases of the reorganization; what each phase would cost; an outline of the brand new offices, commands or centers it could require; how this might affect service members and civilian employees; and the programmatic effects of the planned change.
When asked for comment, the Air Force said it plans to maintain lawmakers informed about its reorganization.
“Because the Department of the Air Force develops implementation plans, leaders will proceed to share information with congressional staffs,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an email to Defense News.
The Government Accountability Office would even have send the House and Senate defense appropriations subcommittees a report inside six months on the Air Force’s planned reorganization. This report would need to detail aspects and evaluation the service considered for the revamp, what feedback combatant commanders offered, how much it may cost a little, how long it’d take to place into place and the way the reorganization is perhaps deemed successful.
GAO would also need to describe how recommendations from the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Commission were taken under consideration, and the way the reorganization might affect joint and coalition forces.
Kendall told reporters at a budget briefing earlier this month that the revamp would likely not cost a fantastic deal of cash.
“What we’re talking about with the re-optimization is creating some latest organizations, but they shall be created out of pieces that we have already got,” Kendall said. “We’re not talking about big manpower increases, and we’re going to attenuate, [to] the extent we will, the movement of individuals … the acquisition of real estate, and so forth.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.