National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force: Report to the President and Congress of the United States

The Air Force faces many challenges in meeting its national security mission within the resources currently envisioned. Doing so will not be easy or without risk, nor will it permit the application of traditional methods of allocating missions, equipment, and resources among the Air Force s three components. After conducting 19 days of hearings involving 154 witnesses and oral public comments, and listening to currently serving Airmen of almost all ranks from the three components at 13 installations throughout the country, the Commission is convinced that the Air Force must change the way it organizes, aligns, and employs the great Americans who choose to serve in its ranks. Congress directed the Commission to undertake a comprehensive study of the structure of the Air Force to determine whether, and how, the structure should be modified to best fulfill current and anticipated mission requirements for the Air Force in a manner consistent with available resources. The statute that created this Commission also specified that it address six considerations in its report to Congress and the President. The Commission fulfilled this mission in the time allotted.