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380AEW Article

AFMC commander: change is afoot

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  While visiting deployed troops, the commander of Air Force Materiel Command said Airmen should prepare for an Air Force that is very different than the one they're in today.

Gen. Donald Hoffman spent two days with service members deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. During the visit, he and members of his staff met with Airmen throughout the wing - particularly logistics and maintenance work centers - to get "first-hand feedback about their challenges."

"It's helpful for me and my staff to see for ourselves what's going on in the field so when we go to address issues when supporting warfighters, we have tactical examples of what people struggle with," the general said. "Then when I get home, I have the information so if I can do something about it, I will."

Hoffman addressed the concerns many Airmen had about the future of the wing as well as the Air Force as a whole. He said the service, like every branch of the Department of Defense, will be going through dramatic changes.

"It's amazing to me to see the progress the 380th has made as it evolves from an expeditionary mission to an enduring one," Hoffman said. "But Airmen here have responded to changing mission sets with great flexibility."

That same flexibility will be needed as the Air Force evolves as well. For example, the service plans on retiring more than 200 aircraft and cutting several thousand positions related to those missions, Hoffman said.

The adjustments to the service's structure stem mainly from changes in the economy.

"The number one threat to national security is the ability to pay for it," Hoffman said. "It won't be as bad as in the Vietnam era when we just couldn't produce sorties because most of the planes had holes in them where the engines should be. But we will be smaller."

The general also said, however, the service will continue to be the world's finest, most capable air force specifically because of the quality of its people.

"Honestly, seeing our deployed men and women really recharges my batteries," he said. "I like to come out once a year to see our folks downrange. It serves as a reminder to me of what my job really is about when I get home."

As the AFMC commander, Hoffman oversees 75,000 people with a budget of $59 billion annually for research, development, test and evaluation. In addition, the command provides the acquisition management services and logistics support required to develop, procure and sustain Air Force weapon systems.