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Editorial: Clarify need for airmen

Airmen recognize the need to modernize the fleet, and have accepted the argument that downsizing the force was the price they had to pay to replace aging airplanes.

But top officials now concede the plan to cut the force to just 316,000 active-duty airmen by the end of 2009 goes too far. They want to end the drawdown now.

The trouble is, Air Force leaders can’t seem to figure out how many people they need, or how to explain that need to Congress.

Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley have bandied about several numbers, ranging from 330,000 on the so-called unfunded priorities list to 328,000 and 322,000 in congressional testimony.

Not surprisingly, the lack of clarity and unity isn’t helping their cause.

“The more you explain it to me, the more I don’t understand it,” complained Rep. Ike Skelton, after Wynne fumbled the argument before the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 7.

No one held a gun to the heads of Air Force leaders demanding they cut the force; this was their idea, a conscious gamble that by giving up people now they could buy planes later. It just hasn’t worked out as expected.

Like so many Americans who mortgaged their homes to the hilt over the past few years, the Air Force found out too late that there were unexpected costs associated with the gamble. Their workload didn’t shrink and the hoped-for savings didn’t materialize as cash for new planes and gear.

Now, as they dig their way out of this self-inflicted mess, Air Force leaders have to get their act together. Congress has a sympathetic ear for the military right now. But the message about how many people the Air Force needs — and why — must be clear, consistent and compelling, or it won’t be heard at all.