REPLACEMENT AIRCRAFT FOR C-130 AND C-141 Concurrently, we need to start planning now for replacement aircraft for the C-130 fleet and for the C-141 fleet. Some of those C130's today are older than the B-52-D's which are about to be retired by the Strategic Air Command. Without a replacement in hand, we must plan on operating those aircraft for at least another 10 years. By the mid-1990's, some of this C-141 fleet will be as old as the C-130's are today. For that reason, I strongly support a continued viable C-17 program. I will be happy to go into that in more detail in response to your questions. It is also needed to satisfy the 66 million ton-mile per day requirement. The C-17 will allow us to phase some of the C-141's into the Guard and Reserve and thereby extend the lifetime of the airplane. It will allow us to retire the older C-130's and it will allow us to satisfy the significant shortfall which we now have in intratheater airlift capability. Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would say a word about our most important resource-our people. Retention, both enlisted and officer, is at an all-time high today and, as a result, we have the highest quality people in our force that I believe I have seen in almost 40 years in uniform. MORALE IS HIGH Our people believe they are doing an important job. They believe they are doing it well, and they believe that their efforts are appreciated. It is important that we retain this high quality and these high retention rates in the face of increasing competition from the civlian sector as the economy improves. Senator COHEN. Will we retain that high morale and retention rate if we freeze the pay? PAY FREEZE TO HAVE SEVERE IMPACT General ALLEN. My next point, as a matter of fact, is that I regret very much the necessity that generated the freeze in pay this year. It is going to have an impact. I think if it is only 1 year, it is manageable. If it is a trend, or even if it looks like a trend for the future, then it is going to have a severe impact on our retention rate. No question about it. Senator COMEN. Last year they took a cut. The projected 7-percent increase was cut to 4. So now this freeze is for just 1 year and we will get it back up. General ALLEN. Yes, sir. Senator COHEN. There are several members who say whatever reduction we are going to achieve in the defense budget will not come out of the pay. General ALLEN. I understand. Senator COHEN. I assume from your statement you would be opposed to providing pay increases? General ALLEN. I will never be opposed to appropriate pay increases. I think it is important that our people retain their earning power. Of course, one thing that tends to ameliorate it a little bit is that the inflation rate is down, and the loss in earning power is not as significant as it might have been several years ago. It seems to me that a formula which keeps the pay in line with the inflation rate is only fair. I will say also that a potentially adverse impact on retention is the talk that you hear here and there about adjustments to the retirement system. Every time there is such an article in the Air Force Times or in other media, it generates a significant level of concern and a tremendous number of questions within the enlisted force as well as within the officer force. REINSTITUTING THE GI BILL Also, every time I go out and visit with my wings and personnel and have meetings with my people they ask me, "General, what is going to happen to the GI bill? Do I need to get out of the service in order to take advantage of it before it expires?" I commend to you either a new GI bill or a clear signal that the current GI bill is going to be extended. That is a matter of considerable concern to the troops out in the field. Senator COHEN. You would support the reinstitution of the GI bill? General ALLEN. I would indeed, yes sir. As a matter of fact, I personally would support very strongly a transferability provision allowing a member to transfer benefits to one's dependents. It is in the American psyche to give your children a good education. So many of our best people leave us at the 12- to 14-year points, and they will say, "General, I don't really want to get out of the Air Force. I love the Air Force. I love what I am doing. But I have a couple of kids coming along, and I have to put them through college; but I just can't do it on my current pay.' If we could ease some of that pressure on those members, I personally believe it would be a very strong incentive. Senator COHEN. General, as you know, I have introduced a reinstitution of the GI bill again this year. When the Secretary of Defense originally was sworn in to office he indicated his support for the GI bill as well. That has been deferred 2 years now and deferred again. This is one of the areas that I think we do share a commitment over. General ALLEN. Yes, sir. My real bottom line here, Mr. Chairman, is that we can't take the current high retention rates for granted. They are very fragile. They are subject to a lot of different influences and we must make sure we look after our people and that our people know that we are looking after them. That concludes my opening comments. [The prepared statement of General Allen follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF GEN. JAMES R. ALLEN, COMMANDER IN CHIEF, MILITARY AIRLIFT COMMAND THE AIRLIFT MISSION Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I welcome the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the readiness of the Military Airlift Command (MAC); its ability to project forces, as needed, to any part of the world; its ability to sustain these forces in combat; and the need to improve on this capability in the years to come. THE MILITARY CHALLENGE During this decade of challenges to our vital interests and, indeed, very real threats to our national security, there are certain broad categories of defense improvements which are so important that they simply cannot be deferred. Among these is the enhancement of our strategic nuclear deterrent posture. Strategic balance We must attain, and clearly be perceived to maintain, an essential balance of strategic capability vis-a-vis that of the USSR. Such a balance is essential to deterrence and the credibility of our military posture as a whole. Projection of conventional forces A priority closely following that of necessary improvements in our strategic posture is the need to improve our ability to project conventional land and air forces rapidly to any area in which our interests might be threatened. The impracticality of stationing U.S. forces in all of the potential trouble spots of the world during peacetime necessitates we maintain within the United States strong, combat-ready forces and the capability to deploy these forces quickly. The existence of this deployment capability can provide a significant element of deterrence to Soviet military adventurism and serve to bolster friendly governments that otherwise might be subjected to political or military pressure. OVERVIEW OF MAC MISSION MAC's primary mission is to project our Nation's rapid response forces to all corners of the globe where our security interests may be threatened. This involves moving fighting forces and their equipment from the United States to staging bases around the world and sustaining them through an air resupply channel. We also must operate within the theater-getting our forces to the battle areas and sustaining them in combat. Additionally, we are responsible for Air Force special operations and aerospace rescue and recovery forces, Air Weather Service (AWS) and Aerospace Audiovisual Service (AAVS). Airlift forces Our C-5 and C-141 aircraft and their active and associate reserve crews provide this Nation's primary intertheater airlift capability. During contingencies we also reply heavily on the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to augment our organic forces. The C-130 aircraft and crews from active and Air Reserve Forces perform our intratheater airlift mission. Additionally, our airlift forces provide a worldwide aeromedical evacuation capability. The C-9 primarily performs this vital mission for the Department of Defense; however, both our C-141 and C-130 aircraft are equipped for this mission and routinely augment the C-9. Special operations forces On March 1, 1983, the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS) and United States Air Force special operations forces were consolidated under MAC in recognition of inherent aircraft and mission similarities. This alignment will realize economies and unity of effort in the manning, training, and equipping of these critical forces; will improve our contingency capability; and will increase our readiness. By bringing together all of the special purpose Č-130's and helicopters, we enhanced our ability to provide immediate capability to special operations taskings and gained significant potential for increased capability in the future. While there are still specific needs in this area, the consolidation will improve an already effective force. Aerospace rescue and recovery service The primary mission of ARRS is the combat rescue and recovery of downed aircrew members from enemy territory. In addition to this combat mission, ARRS supports the intercontinental ballistic missile forces, the Space Shuttle, and atmospheric sampling and provides invaluable weather reconnaissance by locating and tracking the position of hurricanes, typhoons, and severe storms. Rescue's utility is further exercised in peacetime search and rescue as the single federal agency responsible for coordination of search and rescue in the inland region of the United States. As a result of this capability, 488 military and civilian lives were saved during 1982. Air weather service AWS provides environmental support to the Air Force, the Army, designated unified and specified commands, and other agencies as directed. During peacetime, AWS support is essential for protection of military personnel and equipment from severe weather, for safe and efficient air and ground operations, for realistic and productive training exercises, and for research and development of effective weapon systems. During contingencies and wartime, weather service is a vital part of the decision process in the deployment, employment, and redeployment of air and ground forces. Aerospace audiovisual service AAVS supports war and peacetime audiovisual requirements of the Air Force and other Department of Defense agencies. Motion picture has served us well in the past as our primary documentation medium, but the equipment and photo labs are costly to maintain and are reaching obsolescence. We wish to take advantage of the technological advancements in video recording, which make it the most practical and economic medium for the future. Procurement of lightweight, portable television equipment, recorders, and processing equipment to support video documentation will allow AAVS to meet their requirements most efficiently. AIRLIFT FORCE POSTURE Your support for airlift programs last year will go a long way toward improving our capabilities. We thank you for that support. Yet, in spite of the enhancement programs which the Congress has supported, we continue to find ourselves in an unbalanced posture in which our mobility forces are inadequate to meet the deployment needs of our combat forces. In recent years, American combat forces have been developed, procured, and fielded without the mobility resources necessary for their effective deployment and employment. This deficiency is clearly described in the Congressionally Mandated Mobility Study (CMMS) prepared by the DOD and submitted to the Congress in 1981. We must continue to address this problem diligently if we are to attain the goals prescribed by the CMMS. Requirements and shortfalls The CMMS recommends a 25 million ton-mile per day (MTM/D) increase in our Nation's overall airlift capability, of which at least 10 MTM/D should be in the outsize cargo category. The term "outsize" describes items of air-transportable cargo which, by virtue of large size, will not fit in our C-141s and C-130s. At present, outsize cargo can be accommodated only by the C-5. Examples include many large and heavy items integral to the Army's fighting ability, such as armored vehicles, selfpropelled artillery, and helicopters. It is significant that, in spite of ongoing efforts to reduce the size and weight of their equipment, the total fraction of outsize equipment in the Army is expected to increase during the 1980's. Progress toward CMMS goal The DOD has formalized the CMMS-recommended intertheater airlift capability goal of 66 MTM/D in this year's Defense Guidance. |