The Air Force will reduce flying hours by as much as 18 percent as sequestration-related budget cuts start sinking in after their March 1 implementation, according to a service spokeswoman.
Air Force spokeswoman Tonya Racasner said yesterday the service will slash approximately 203,000 hours across the enterprise because of sequestration—the $1.2 trillion decade-long cuts to defense and non-defense spending that kicked in Friday. Racasner also said the service will cancel advanced pilot and instructor missions, including weapons instructor courses. Mobility Air Forces units will experience degradation in key capabilities such as air drop and aerial refueling capabilities, primarily in intra-theater airlift and Army rapid response, Racasner said.
Due to sequestration, Racasner said the Air Force is prioritizing ongoing named operations such as Operation Enduring Freedom, presidential support, nuclear deterrence and pipeline training. But Racasner said the service will be unable to support multiple defense secretary-ordered missions, including those in support of combatant commander requirements such as theater security packages, continuous bomber presence and joint and combatant commander exercises to include Bright Star, Commando Sling, Vigilant Eagle, Red Flag and Green Flag, to name a few.
The Air Force will also cancel flying participation in air shows, installation open houses, trade shows and flyovers, including the Thunderbirds and other demonstration teams, according to Racasner.
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter Friday told reporters at the Pentagon that the Air Force will protect its nuclear wing and those participating in operations in Afghanistan.
Newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also told reporters Friday that he met with military leaders about their concerns regarding “uncertainty” caused by both the sequestration and the continuing resolution (CR), which is a stop-gap funding measure passed last year that funds the federal government through March 27.
The Pentagon does not want Congress to simply extend the current CR, which restricts its budgeting flexibility, and hopes it will pass a full fiscal year 2013 defense appropriations bill this month (Defense Daily, March 4).