Our nation has been facing a budget crisis for several years that is affecting many aspects of the government. However, there are areas like the Department of Defense and its branches that are in need of a larger budget than what is currently possible. The Air Force is one of those branches. The Air Force is currently trying to work with a budget is that is too small to support its critical functions. This paper will discuss some of the reasons why the Air Force is in need of a larger budget by explaining how insufficient funds are affecting their manpower, readiness, equipment and their ability to recover following the recent sequestration. Though there are few people who do not agree with increasing the funds available to the Air Force,
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When you think of America you think “strong, big, unbeatable and the best” but if America is really all of those things than why, according to Major General Martin, is “today 's Air Force the oldest, busiest and smallest it 's ever been. We had the fewest number of airmen and aircraft since our creation in 1947” (Department of Defense). In order to maintain the military standard that we have set, there needs to be more support and a larger budget. Because of the recent budget cuts, the Air Force “had to furlough most of our 180,000 civilian airmen for six days.” (Department of Defense) Currently, the number of airmen in the U.S Air Force is 429,000, furloughing that number of men and women for a week as a result of the sequestration had a severely negative impact on operational effectiveness and intelligence gathering. If sequestration continues it is very possible and quite likely that they will be forced reduce the number of airmen from 429,000 down to 419,000 and have a contingency plan in case they have to drop down as low as 315,000 airmen. Major General Martin stated that “315,000 is really our red line” meaning that they will not reduce …show more content…
Those against the budget increase cited the lack of details on why the increase is needed. These details for why the budget increase is necessary includes all the reasons listed in this paper. Personnel, equipment, readiness and recovery all require a budget increase in order to operate successfully at their fullest capacity. At this time there are multiple threats to our country as well as threats to our international allies. Combating those threats and preventing future threats requires a strong Air Force that is fully staffed, trained and equipped to operate in any environment and complete any mission that is required in order to protect our nation and her allies. For this reason it is imperative that the budget increase be approved so that required missions, operations, and support can be successfully carried out with the excellence the United States Air Force is recognized and known for since the branch was
When you think of America you think “strong, big, unbeatable and the best” but if America is really all of those things than why, according to Major General Martin, is “today 's Air Force the oldest, busiest and smallest it 's ever been. We had the fewest number of airmen and aircraft since our creation in 1947” (Department of Defense). In order to maintain the military standard that we have set, there needs to be more support and a larger budget. Because of the recent budget cuts, the Air Force “had to furlough most of our 180,000 civilian airmen for six days.” (Department of Defense) Currently, the number of airmen in the U.S Air Force is 429,000, furloughing that number of men and women for a week as a result of the sequestration had a severely negative impact on operational effectiveness and intelligence gathering. If sequestration continues it is very possible and quite likely that they will be forced reduce the number of airmen from 429,000 down to 419,000 and have a contingency plan in case they have to drop down as low as 315,000 airmen. Major General Martin stated that “315,000 is really our red line” meaning that they will not reduce …show more content…
Those against the budget increase cited the lack of details on why the increase is needed. These details for why the budget increase is necessary includes all the reasons listed in this paper. Personnel, equipment, readiness and recovery all require a budget increase in order to operate successfully at their fullest capacity. At this time there are multiple threats to our country as well as threats to our international allies. Combating those threats and preventing future threats requires a strong Air Force that is fully staffed, trained and equipped to operate in any environment and complete any mission that is required in order to protect our nation and her allies. For this reason it is imperative that the budget increase be approved so that required missions, operations, and support can be successfully carried out with the excellence the United States Air Force is recognized and known for since the branch was