Building toward the Future

Common wisdom asserts the existence of an ancient Chinese curse that translates, May you live in interesting times. In keeping with the Chinese theme of wisdom that we all know, it is often said that the Chinese characters for crisis and opportunity are identical. The well-informed readers of Air and Space Power Journal ASPJ know that both of these memes have long histories but no basis in truth. However, that fact does not preclude them from being incredibly appropriate for the situation in which we find ourselves. Certainly, we are living in interesting times, and although numerous challenges face the Air Force today, we have a unique opportunity to shape our future. As the first online-only issue of ASPJ launches in January 2012, the Air Force indeed, the entire nation must deal with a period of fiscal austerity. Although not unprecedented, such circumstances are new to many Air Force people who have served during a time when resources were relatively abundant. As we move forward, we must remain undaunted by such issues and embrace the opportunities that present themselves, building our way to the Air Force of tomorrow. No one can read current events without coming face-to-face with many of the dilemmas that confront the Air Force today. The nation s financial crisis has become a major driver as the Department of Defense DOD and Air Force must deal with fiscal realities dictated by the budget crunch. The 450 billion cut across the DOD budget, mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, forced Air Force leaders to examine carefully each and every dollar spent and not only cut excess spending but also evaluate all missions and functions to determine where the service could take risk.1 Currently, the Air Force uses various force-shaping tools to arrive at our authorized end strength of active duty members additionally, it has implemented tools for managing the civilian force in order to return to the levels of manning in fiscal year 2010.