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The Sequester is killing people
Posted on: April 5, 2017 at 11:55:18 CT
Spanky KU
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https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/military-aviation-readiness-is-in-a-deep-hole-top-brass-says
A high operational tempo and uncertain budgets have damaged aviation readiness across all four services and have leaders concerned about pilot safety, top brass told Congress Wednesday.
“I think we’ve all used the word ‘fragile,’” said Army Lt. Gen. Kevin Mangum, the deputy commanding general for Army Training and Doctrine Command. “We are about at the tipping point.”
Appearing before the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, leaders from all four services told lawmakers the critical focus on overseas operations has hamstrung efforts to improve readiness and training back home.
“I often describe aviation as a fragile ecosystem,” said Mangum. “In order to keep this ecosystem healthy and thriving, all the requisite parts need to be nourished and maintained. If any get out of balance for long, the whole system can begin to fray and collapse.”
Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, called the situation a “readiness crisis.”
“We know that readiness shortfalls stem from a degraded maintenance capability … the consequence of years’ worth of high operational tempo experienced by fewer aircraft with fewer experienced operators and skilled military and civilian personnel to maintain them,” she said.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, said Marines are constantly transferring aircraft between units, or reducing the number of aircraft per fighter squadron because they simply don’t have enough operational planes.
“We can launch 42 percent — 443 aircraft — of our required 1,065 flightline inventory,” he said. “We are still far short of what we need to be in the course of readiness; 42 percent is not good enough. It’s not good at all. … We’re in a deep hole and have a ways to go to climb out.”
Davis noted that in June the Marine Corps announced it is pulling 23 F/A-18 Hornets out of the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, in order to meet fleet requirements.
All four leaders again called on Congress to increase the funding for personnel, readiness and maintenance, a common request from the military over the past few years of sequestration.
“Fiscal constraints continue to force difficult trades in capacity and readiness for long term capability improvements,” said Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, the deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems. “We are recovering from a readiness deficit that started to accrue in 2009 and was exacerbated by sequestration effects. … While we are seeing signs of recovery, and our processes need time to mature, we need funding stability to support our plan.”
The need for improved readiness and training is growing more urgent with near-peer adversaries like Russia and China closing the technology gap with the U.S., Manazir said.
“Provocations with state and non-state actors continue to cause instability in almost every region of the world,” he told the committee. “We continue to face challenges associated with balancing readiness for today and modernization for tomorrow’s fight. More of our force is being demanded, deployed longer than planned. Intended replacements are not keeping pace with attrition.”
Maj. Gen. Scott West, the director of current operations for the Air Force, said airmen are flying some aircraft and bombers — such as the B-52 Stratofortress — that are more than 50 years old.
That would be like using a WWII-era B-17 Flying Fortress in Operation Desert Storm, he said.
In addition to the current bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, the Air Force is focusing on four key areas, West said: supporting nuclear deterrence; growing cyber capabilities; space operations; and improving intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance resources such as remotely piloted aircraft.
“To get to those four areas of operations, we had to make trades in people and our conventional air forces,” West said. “We made people trades that today has resulted in our first readiness issue and that is to address critical skills. That’s mainly in maintenance.”
So far, the four leaders said, they have not seen any increase in serious accidents and mishaps due to gaps in maintenance or training, but that is a concern.
Davis said the Marine Corps has seen a rise in the number of minor accidents that don’t cause serious injury or a high amount of damage. Those minor accidents might be due to insufficient training and maintenance, and the service is looking into it.
The Army, meanwhile, has seen a spike in accidents involving unmanned aerial systems, Mangum said, and an investigation is underway to determine if it is a result of more errors being committed by operators.
Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., the subcommittee chairman, said members of Congress have a “deep level of concern” about gaps in maintenance and training.
“While it may not show itself directly today in the rate of mishaps, I do believe it exhibits itself in additional risk,” he said. “There’s a common theme here: We’re pushing harder. We have fewer resources. We have fewer of the skilled people in the necessary positions to do all the things that we need to do to make sure that we are not just rebuilding that readiness but maintaining the current level of readiness.”
Davis said he’s also concerned that inexperience may cause accidents in the future. In the past, Marine Corps flight leads would have between 1,000 to 1,500 hours of experience. Now they have 500 and 600 hours.
“I worry about my young aviators that aren’t getting the number of hours they need to," Davis said. "It’s the mishap that looms on our bow that we don’t see coming, As a young guy I had a couple of close calls. I do not know how I would do having the amount of flight time that my youngsters get.”
Davis doesn’t just speak from his own experience, but from a father’s as well. His two sons are both Marine Corps pilots.
“They’re not complainers. But as a dad I worry about it,” Davis said. “They’re just not getting the looks at the ball that I got. … We’re not where we need to be. We’re proficient, but we’re not as good as we need to be.
Edited by Spanky at 11:55:42 on 04/05/17
A high operational tempo and uncertain budgets have damaged aviation readiness across all four services and have leaders concerned about pilot safety, top brass told Congress Wednesday.
“I think we’ve all used the word ‘fragile,’” said Army Lt. Gen. Kevin Mangum, the deputy commanding general for Army Training and Doctrine Command. “We are about at the tipping point.”
Appearing before the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, leaders from all four services told lawmakers the critical focus on overseas operations has hamstrung efforts to improve readiness and training back home.
“I often describe aviation as a fragile ecosystem,” said Mangum. “In order to keep this ecosystem healthy and thriving, all the requisite parts need to be nourished and maintained. If any get out of balance for long, the whole system can begin to fray and collapse.”
Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, called the situation a “readiness crisis.”
“We know that readiness shortfalls stem from a degraded maintenance capability … the consequence of years’ worth of high operational tempo experienced by fewer aircraft with fewer experienced operators and skilled military and civilian personnel to maintain them,” she said.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, said Marines are constantly transferring aircraft between units, or reducing the number of aircraft per fighter squadron because they simply don’t have enough operational planes.
“We can launch 42 percent — 443 aircraft — of our required 1,065 flightline inventory,” he said. “We are still far short of what we need to be in the course of readiness; 42 percent is not good enough. It’s not good at all. … We’re in a deep hole and have a ways to go to climb out.”
Davis noted that in June the Marine Corps announced it is pulling 23 F/A-18 Hornets out of the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, in order to meet fleet requirements.
All four leaders again called on Congress to increase the funding for personnel, readiness and maintenance, a common request from the military over the past few years of sequestration.
“Fiscal constraints continue to force difficult trades in capacity and readiness for long term capability improvements,” said Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, the deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems. “We are recovering from a readiness deficit that started to accrue in 2009 and was exacerbated by sequestration effects. … While we are seeing signs of recovery, and our processes need time to mature, we need funding stability to support our plan.”
The need for improved readiness and training is growing more urgent with near-peer adversaries like Russia and China closing the technology gap with the U.S., Manazir said.
“Provocations with state and non-state actors continue to cause instability in almost every region of the world,” he told the committee. “We continue to face challenges associated with balancing readiness for today and modernization for tomorrow’s fight. More of our force is being demanded, deployed longer than planned. Intended replacements are not keeping pace with attrition.”
Maj. Gen. Scott West, the director of current operations for the Air Force, said airmen are flying some aircraft and bombers — such as the B-52 Stratofortress — that are more than 50 years old.
That would be like using a WWII-era B-17 Flying Fortress in Operation Desert Storm, he said.
In addition to the current bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, the Air Force is focusing on four key areas, West said: supporting nuclear deterrence; growing cyber capabilities; space operations; and improving intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance resources such as remotely piloted aircraft.
“To get to those four areas of operations, we had to make trades in people and our conventional air forces,” West said. “We made people trades that today has resulted in our first readiness issue and that is to address critical skills. That’s mainly in maintenance.”
So far, the four leaders said, they have not seen any increase in serious accidents and mishaps due to gaps in maintenance or training, but that is a concern.
Davis said the Marine Corps has seen a rise in the number of minor accidents that don’t cause serious injury or a high amount of damage. Those minor accidents might be due to insufficient training and maintenance, and the service is looking into it.
The Army, meanwhile, has seen a spike in accidents involving unmanned aerial systems, Mangum said, and an investigation is underway to determine if it is a result of more errors being committed by operators.
Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., the subcommittee chairman, said members of Congress have a “deep level of concern” about gaps in maintenance and training.
“While it may not show itself directly today in the rate of mishaps, I do believe it exhibits itself in additional risk,” he said. “There’s a common theme here: We’re pushing harder. We have fewer resources. We have fewer of the skilled people in the necessary positions to do all the things that we need to do to make sure that we are not just rebuilding that readiness but maintaining the current level of readiness.”
Davis said he’s also concerned that inexperience may cause accidents in the future. In the past, Marine Corps flight leads would have between 1,000 to 1,500 hours of experience. Now they have 500 and 600 hours.
“I worry about my young aviators that aren’t getting the number of hours they need to," Davis said. "It’s the mishap that looms on our bow that we don’t see coming, As a young guy I had a couple of close calls. I do not know how I would do having the amount of flight time that my youngsters get.”
Davis doesn’t just speak from his own experience, but from a father’s as well. His two sons are both Marine Corps pilots.
“They’re not complainers. But as a dad I worry about it,” Davis said. “They’re just not getting the looks at the ball that I got. … We’re not where we need to be. We’re proficient, but we’re not as good as we need to be.
Edited by Spanky at 11:55:42 on 04/05/17
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The Sequester is killing people - Spanky KU - 4/5 11:55:18