25 February 2021

AFA Winter 2021: US Air Force considering new force presentation model

by Pat Host

The US Air Force (USAF) is considering a new force presentation model to achieve more predictability in how it offers its forces to combatant commanders (COCOMs) while also allowing it to build a predictable operations tempo (OPTEMPO), said General Charles Brown, USAF chief of staff, on 24 February, during the Air Force Association’s (AFA’s) Aerospace Warfare Symposium.

According to Gen Brown, the service has a hard time articulating its near and long-term readiness, and how it impacts modernisation, a top USAF priority. A force presentation model would make it easier for the USAF to explain to other Pentagon leaders the impacts of, for example, deploying earlier, he said.

The USAF is mulling over a new force presentation model to better predict how it offers its forces to joint force leaders. This could benefit units such as GA-ASI MQ-9 Reaper RPA operators that usually do not deploy to theatre because they become worn down from non-stop work. (GA-ASI)

According to an expert, a force presentation model would allow the USAF to spread responsibility across all the different bases in a predictable fashion so that aircraft can be managed while personnel can manage themselves and their families accordingly. Doug Birkey, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies executive director, told Janes on 24 February that, for example, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor use would not always come from Langley Air Force Base (AFB) in Virginia. F-22s for non-testing purposes are also operated out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and Tyndall AFB in Florida, according to Janes World Air Forces .

The US Air Force (USAF) is considering a new force presentation model to achieve more predictability...

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