Air Force chief of staff stresses need
to modernize, replace fleet of aircraft
By Sean E. Cobb,
Kaiserslautern bureau
Sean E. Cobb / Stars and Stripes
Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Chyrek, left, deputy commander of the 86th Aerospace Medicine
Squadron, shakes hands with Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Michael E. Ryan after the
general spoke at a Thursday morning troop call. In the background is Gen. Gregory S.
Martin, U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander. |
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY — The Air Force needs to modernize and replace its
aging fleet of aircraft, the Air Force’s No. 1 military leader said Thursday.
The Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Michael E. Ryan, visited Ramstein on Thursday as
part of his last European tour before turning over his command.
President Bush recently nominated Gen. John P. Jumper for the position. Jumper
presently heads the Air Combat Command and is the former U.S. Air Force Europe commander.
During his visit, Ryan shared his thoughts about the Quadrennial Defense Review and the
military’s changing strategy. The comprehensive review, spearheaded by Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, is supposed to lead the military into the new millennium.
One current hot topic for the Air Force has been the multibillion-dollar F-22 Raptor
development program. Recently the Air Force cut its order from 16 fighters in 2002 to 13.
"We ought to buy more of them, not less of them," Ryan said. "No, there
is no diminishing of the need or the requirement for the F-22."
The combat and stealth capabilities of the fighter aircraft make it a crucial part of
the Air Force’s future air fleet, Ryan said.
In addition to replacing its current fighter aircraft — keeping the fleet flying
is a big concern for the Air Force, Ryan said. "Modernization for us is an absolute
necessity," he said.
"It’s time now to reinvest in our defense to make sure we’re ready
— not for tomorrow’s war, we’re going to win tomorrow’s war,"
Ryan said. "It’s what will we be like and what will the challenges be 15 years
from now."
The modernization will help the Air Force avoid returning to the game of robbing one
plane to fix another, as has happened before, he said.
"We had underfunded our spares accounts for the operation tempo that we were
at," Ryan said. "And over the past four years we have put billions of dollars
back into our spares accounts to make sure that we didn’t end up cannibalizing as
part of our existence."
Recent government audits of the Pentagon despairingly show a lack accountability on how
much of that money is spent.
In a recent General Accounting Office report, military branches could only prove 8
percent of the money allocated for parts actually went to purchase parts. The Pentagon
could not account for $1.8 billion that was earmarked for parts.
The spare parts problem is something the Air Force is addressing, Ryan said.
"In fact, between now and 20 years from now, only two aircraft will go out of the
inventory," he added.
The chief of staff was speaking about the Air Force’s plans to shelf the T-37, a
training jet, and the C-141 cargo aircraft.
The services plan to deal with these problems is relatively simple, according to Ryan.
"So we are going to have to learn how to deal with this aging aircraft problem and at
the same time revitalize our force by buying new."
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