The Air Force is currently planning for “longer-term” budget uncertainty, including potential sequestration in March, two of the service’s leaders wrote Monday.
Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer and Acting Under Secretary Jamie Morin did not provide specifics on how the service was preparing for long-term uncertainty in their memo to major command leaders, but the two did spell out numerous short-term actions major command leaders should take to reduce the Air Force’s spending, especially in operations and maintenance, and prepare for fiscal year 2013 budget uncertainty. This uncertainty is driven by the possibility of an extended Continuing Resolution run through the end of FY ’13 in addition to sequestration.
These short-term actions include:
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* Establishing a review process for investment accounts to proactively monitor proposed program obligations and, as prudent, halt or delay contracts to reduce expenditures. The two wrote that further guidance has been provided through acquisition channels.
* Implementing civilian hiring restrictions, including a hiring freeze and immediate elimination of temps;
* Reviewing Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) requirements and identifying potential reductions that will not impair wartime operations, like delaying asset reconstruction and incrementally-funding OCO contracts and canceling all non-mission-critical temporary duties, such as attending or hosting conferences and symposia, staff assistance visits and training seminars.
* Curtailing flying not directly related to readiness;
* Curtailing, and canceling, non-congressionally directed or mission critical ongoing and scheduled studies;
* Limiting supply purchases to essential FY ’13 consumption and halting “minor” purchases like furniture;
* Deferring non-emergency facility sustainment, restoration and modernization projects and de-obligating and incrementally-funding contracts to encompass only FY ’13.
Spencer and Morin also said the Air Force is establishing a review processes to proactively monitor proposed program obligations.
“Given these sources of budget uncertainty and a projected FY ’13 $1.8 billion shortfall in Air Force funding for overseas contingency operations, it is prudent to implement immediate actions to reduce our expenditure rate and mitigate budget execution risks,” Spencer and Morin wrote in the memo.
Major command leaders were also instructed to consider the possibility of civilian furloughs of up to 30 calendar days or 22 workdays.
Spencer and Morin wrote that the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is protecting funding for wartime operations, Wounded Warrior programs, programs most closely associated with the new defense strategy (to the extent feasible) and family programs.