Air Force wing deployments could leave bases understaffed, GAO warns
By Stephen Losey
Dec 2, 2024, 04:30 PM
The Air Force is changing how it deploys airmen, but government auditors warn that sending large units of airmen overseas could risk leaving their home bases vulnerable. (Senior Airman Luis Calderon/Air Force)
Some Air Force bases may not have enough airmen to both send wings overseas and keep operating at home under the service’s new deployment plan, a Government Accountability Office report said Tuesday.
The Air Force is moving to a new deployment model called AFFORGEN, or Air Force Force Generation, which seeks to send airmen overseas in more cohesive groups that better resemble other services’ deployment structures. This involved first creating force packages known as expeditionary airbases and air task forces made up of airmen from multiple bases who train and deploy together.
Under the Air Force’s old deployment system, GAO said, joint staff officials picked small groups of airmen from an “a la carte menu” to prepare tailored force packages to go overseas. This meant that in many cases, airmen deployed overseas with other personnel they had never before met or worked with, which harmed unit cohesion and performance.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/12/02/air-force-wing-deployments-could-leave-bases-understaffed-gao-warns/
