Page 5 - Desert Lightning News 5-29-15

Desert Lightning News May 29, 2015 5

Air Force moves to bring about RPA mission relief

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Operating at a surge capacity for nearly a decade has taken a toll on
the force. In order to meet combatant commander requirements, and in
The Air Force is pursuing a range of options that will, in combination response to SECDEF direction, the Air Force surged MQ-1/9 combat air
with a reset in the number of sustainable combat air patrols, help alleviate patrols nine times in the last eight years, and has sustained those opera-
long-term stress on Remotely Piloted Aircraft crews. tions to date, according to Air Force officials.

Initial efforts were announced by the Air Force Secretary and Chief of In April, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter approved the reset of the CAP
Staff earlier this year; new initiatives include incentive pay increases and planning guidance to reflect a drop in CAPs from 65 to 60. This initiative
bonuses for crews, directing additional funds to the mission, augmenting was designed to alleviate the state of constant surge experienced by the
current crew manning, increasing the number of RPA pilot graduates, and RPA community.
increasing the use of Guard and Reserve Airmen as well as contractors to
bring relief to a community in high demand. Air Force leadership recognizes the stakes of not properly balancing mission
demands against the needs to develop the force and the potential risk assumed
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says the Air Force will continue in areas such as retention, training, manning, and combat capability.
to support Combatant Commanders with RPA missions while also focus-
ing on initiatives that reduce stress on personnel and build readiness that “Maintaining operational success and fulfilling combatant command re-
is sustainable over time. quirements for a sustained period of time has impacted our ability to train the
force and risks the health and long-term viability of the enterprise,” said Gen.
“Balancing ISR capability across the range of military operations with fi- Mark A. Welsh III, Air Force Chief of Staff. “Current demand put require-
nite resources remains a challenge,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah ments for active-duty RPA pilots at about 300 per year. However, our current
Lee James. “In order to best meet mission demands and sustain the force, the active-duty training production output is only 180 pilots per year. The new
SECDEF has approved a CAP reset to improve RPA pilot operations tempo. plan aims to add more than 100 additional pilot graduates per year.”
We needed to do this to ensure the long-term viability of this capability.”
To address concerns, the Air Force launched several initiatives in Janu-
After spending much of the last decade in surge mode, the Air Force is ary 2015 to deal with the growing strain on RPA capacity and continues to
looking to put into place measures to bring additional relief to the high- explore options to fix manning challenges.
demand remotely piloted aircraft community.
In January, Secretary James took immediate action to increase RPA pilot
“What our Remotely Piloted Aircraft professionals are doing in today’s Aviation Pay from $650 to $1,500 a month. Now the service is developing
fight and in preparing for future conflicts is simply incredible,” said Gen. plans for a longer-term RPA pilot retention bonus for Fiscal Year 2016 re-
Hawk Carlisle, Air Combat Command commander. “RPAs fulfill critical
demands in every theater 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” See RPA, Page 11

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