Chief of staff gives his take on AF’s state

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Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz holds an Airmen's Call Oct. 2, 2009 at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. Schwartz hosted an open forum for airmen to directly ask him questions about his vision for the future of the Air Force.


Chief of staff gives his take on AF’s state
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jan 3, 2010 8:29:27 EST

The Air Force’s top uniformed leader expects at least 3,000 more airmen will head to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of the surge ordered by President Barack Obama.

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz quantified the Air Force’s role in the 30,000-troop buildup at the end of a wide-ranging interview Dec. 22 with Air Force Times.

Schwartz put the figure at 3,000 to 3,500 airmen, but combatant command officials are still doing their calculations. Air Force planners estimate at least 2,000 airmen will be deployed but said more airmen will be called up as U.S. Central Command needs them, which could very well bring the total to 3,000.

Schwartz pointed out his figure does not include airmen who will be deployed to air bases just outside the war zone, such as Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, to help transport the extra troops and equipment.

“We will go from about … 6,500 to 7,000 to close to 10,000. So the plus-up will be about 3,000 in Afghanistan ... and that does not include plus-ups outside Afghanistan on the periphery. So it will be more than the 3,000,” Schwartz said.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/01/airforce_schwartz_010310w/