[The Top Issues of the Air Force Association were adopted by the delegates to the AFA National Convention on September 15, 2002, in Washington, D.C. This document complements the 2003 AFA Statement of Policy. Each of the Top Issues issues is significant. They are listed in no particular order of priority. For more information on the Top Issues, please read the "Issue Summaries" section. You can also find out more about these and other important air and space power issues by visiting AIR FORCE Magazine Online at http://www.afa.org or referring to Aerospace Education Foundation publications at http://www.aef.org/pub/symposia.asp.]

  Terrorism and Homeland Defense: AFA believes Americans should not have to live under the constant threat of terrorism. The United States must pursue and sustain the war on terrorism until the networks responsible for exporting it are destroyed. Homeland defense is also urgent and must be funded with priority in the federal budget.

  Four Percent of GDP for Defense: The United States can afford to spend more on national defense. The 2002 defense budget allocation, representing 3.3 percent of GDP, is not adequate to support our national security requirement. AFA believes four percent is needed. Congress and the DOD must work together to fund and sustain readiness, recapitalization, modernization, and transformation of the armed forces.

  Recruiting and Retention: The Air Force's most important resource is its people. Even before the war on terror, operations tempo was a problem, and it has now intensified. It creates pressure and hardship on military members and their families, and the services are struggling to keep pace with demands. Congress should increase Air Force end-strength to meet actual requirements and continue funding military quality of life and service improvements to attract and retain an all-volunteer force.

  Total Force Concerns: Today, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are being deployed with a frequency that has no precedent. AFA believes Guardsmen and Reservists should be equipped, modernized and compensated commensurate with their contribution to the Total Force. Additionally, employer support and recognition are critical as we fight a long-term war on terrorism.

  Civilian Work Force Shaping: AFA believes the impending wave of civilian retirements will afford the Air Force and DOD the opportunity to shape and recruit the workforce of the future. New incentives must be approved to correct skill imbalances and keep the Air Force competitive in today's labor market.

  Space Leadership: AFA believes that Air Force stewardship is essential to the development of people, programs, systems and forces to secure the nation's preeminence in space. DOD has designated the Air Force as its executive agent for space. Congress should take the next logical step and grant the Air Force Title 10 authority and responsibility in military space activities in order to codify the service's space leadership role.

  Real Time C4ISR: The advantages of integrating manned, unmanned and space capabilities are enormous. AFA believes DOD and Congress should work to upgrade Air Force capabilities for C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance). Specifically, a robust technology development effort for a space-based radar should be funded, along with research and development of manned and unmanned atmospheric and space vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and combat roles.

  Force Modernization: Today's Air Force aircraft have been in service for so long that maintaining the fleet is becoming increasingly costly and difficult-new platforms are urgently needed. AFA believes that the F-22 and F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) represent complementary capabilities and should be fully funded. The development of a new long-range strike platform should also be accelerated. Furthermore, DOD should procure additional C-17s beyond the 180 planned, press ahead with modernization of C-5s and C-130s and procure a modern tanker capability.

  Force Structure: Current requirements, including the global war on terrorism, have substantially increased operations and personnel tempo across the Air Force. AFA believes force structure should be sized to match real-world requirements. The Administration and Congress should fund the equipment, organization and facilities required for the mission and find an efficient and fair method of identifying and reducing excess infrastructure.

  Nuclear Posture and Comprehensive Missile Defense: AFA believes nuclear deterrence provided by the triad of land-, air- and sea-based nuclear forces is vital to national security. The United States should maintain flexible, reliable and survivable nuclear forces while continuing to press ahead with research and testing leading to a comprehensive missile defense capability.
Cyber Defense and Attack: AFA believes it is crucial for the US to defend against cyber attack. Our response to an attack on our national information infrastructure must be swift and sure, just as it would be if we were subjected to physical attack. Protecting military, government and national networks will require increased cooperation between the private sector, DOD and other government agencies.

  Cyber Defense and Attack: In the information age, communication networks form the backbone of everything from national defense systems to commercial aviation to the stock market and the power grid. The emergence of computer hackers and viruses that instantly cross international borders pose a constant threat. In a single incident in 2001, the Nimda virus infected more than 100,000 government and business computers and destabilized networks within hours. U.S. vulnerability to cyber attack has not gone unnoticed by terrorists and reports indicate that al-Qaeda is planning large-scale cyber terrorism to cripple the U.S. economy.

  Industrial Base Support: AFA believes that the US industrial base is vital to sustaining, modernizing and transforming our armed forces today and in the future. We must pursue sensible acquisition policies and business practices, and support the research, development and implementation of technology that is critical to the health of a world-class industrial capability. Moreover, we must nurture and strike the right balance in the partnership between the private sector, logistics centers, research labs and academia.

  Science and Technology Concerns: Future military performance hinges on the investments we make today. The declining level of investment in defense related S&T is a concern. AFA supports the goal of increasing S&T investment to 3 percent of the overall DOD budget. Adequate resources are also needed to invigorate and strengthen the public/private partnership between the Air Force, industry, and academia in S&T.

  Military Health Care System: AFA recognizes that the TRICARE For Life and TRICARE Senior Pharmacy programs are providing quality medical care and affordable prescription drug coverage to military retirees and their dependents-notable achievements. Still, problems linger in both the military direct care and managed care systems. The retention of physicians and critical care specialists in the Air Force itself is a major concern. The problems of military health care must be addressed to ensure military readiness.

  Commitment to Veterans: Shortsighted and antiquated laws, along with underfunded budgets, are preventing former service members from receiving benefits and entitlements due them as the result of their service in the military. The opportunity to meet these commitments is fading fast as more than 1,000 American veterans are dying each day. AFA urges that action be taken now to correct inadequacies in the areas of veterans' health care, survivor benefits, concurrent receipt and burial honors.

  Terrorism and Homeland Defense: On September 11, 2001, approximately 3,000 people from more than 80 nations died in the terrorist attack against the United States. Since that time, U.S. and coalition forces have dismantled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and routed al-Qaeda operatives who sought sanctuary there. However, thousands of terrorists remain at-large and are planning attacks against U.S. citizens and interests at home and abroad. AFA believes Americans should not have to live under the constant threat of terrorism. The United States must pursue and sustain the war on terrorism until the networks responsible for exporting it are destroyed. Homeland defense is also urgent and must be funded with priority in the federal budget.

  Four Percent of GDP for Defense: DOD's budget request calls for $379 billion to win the war against terrorism, defend America and its people, improve quality of life for men and women in uniform, and accelerate military transformation. Considering the enormity of resources required thus far in the war on terrorism, it will be difficult to achieve these goals at that level of investment. The United States can afford to spend more on national defense. The 2002 defense budget allocation, representing 3.3 percent of GDP, is not adequate to support our national security requirement. AFA believes four percent is needed. Congress and the DOD must work together to fund and sustain readiness, recapitalization, modernization, and transformation of the armed forces.

  Recruiting and Retention: Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle, combined with other contingencies, have placed unexpected demands on the Air Force and its people. Much of the deployment strain has fallen on expeditionary combat support forces such as security, intelligence, communications, civil engineers and enlisted aircrew members. The nation is at war and airmen will do whatever it takes to defeat terrorism. Still, recruiting is the lifeline of the service, just as retention is the backbone of a professional force. The Air Force's most important resource is its people. Even before the war on terror, operations tempo was a problem, and it has now intensified. It creates pressure and hardship on military members and their families, and the services are struggling to keep pace with demands. Congress should increase Air Force end-strength to meet actual requirements and continue funding military quality of life and service improvements to attract and retain an all-volunteer force.

  Total Force Concerns: The Air Force relies on the Guard and Reserve for Day One presence in worldwide operations. On September 11th, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve were among the first to respond, patrolling the skies over America in Operation Noble Eagle alongside active duty units. They have also performed exceptionally in Operation Enduring Freedom and in other deployments. There is a saturation point and added flexibility and recapitalization are needed to maximize their role and help avoid over extension. Today, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are being deployed with a frequency that has no precedent. AFA believes Guardsmen and Reservists should be equipped, modernized and compensated commensurate with their contribution to the Total Force. Additionally, employer support and recognition are critical as we fight a long-term war on terrorism.

  Civilian Work Force Shaping: A civilian retirement wave is approaching as more than 40 percent of Air Force civilians will be eligible to retire in the next five years. Additionally, a decade of downsizing has resulted in an imbalanced mix of workforce skills. More scientists, engineers, program managers and other technical specialists are needed. Effective management tools such as streamlined hiring, broad-banding of pay, Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP), Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and technical skills incentives will be needed to recruit the workforce of the 21^st century. AFA believes the impending wave of civilian retirements affords the Air Force and DOD the opportunity to shape and recruit the workforce of the future. New incentives must be approved to correct skill imbalances and keep the Air Force competitive in today's labor market.

  Space Leadership: Nearly 90 percent of the people and money for the DOD space program comes from the Air Force. The past year has seen a sweeping reorganization of DOD space activities including the realignment of headquarters and field commands to more effectively organize, train and equip for space. Air Force Space Command was assigned a separate four-star billet and responsibility for space research, development, acquisition and operations. These initiatives were long overdue and consistent with recommendations in the 2001 "Report of the Commission to Assess US National Security Space Management and Organization." AFA believes that Air Force stewardship is essential to the development of people, programs, systems and forces to secure the nation's preeminence in space. DOD has designated the Air Force as its executive agent for space. Congress should take the next logical step and grant the Air Force Title 10 authority and responsibility in military space activities in order to codify the service's space leadership role.

  Real Time C4ISR: The overwhelming success of air and space forces in Operation Enduring Freedom demonstrates the asymmetrical advantage of C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance). Commanders were able to acquire a comprehensive view of the battlespace by linking ISR assets. US Special Forces provided additional intelligence on the ground. The Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) played a central role in providing timely integration of intelligence assets. Although these capabilities are revolutionary, the ultimate goal remains to find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess anything of consequence that moves on the surface of the earth in real time. The advantages of integrating manned, unmanned and space capabilities are enormous. AFA believes DOD and Congress should work to upgrade Air Force capabilities for C4ISR. Specifically, a robust technology development effort for a space-based radar should be funded, along with research and development of manned and unmanned atmospheric and space vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and combat roles.

  Force Modernization: The expeditionary Air Force of the 21^st century must be able to survive across the full spectrum of air-to-air and advanced air defenses and provide persistent ground attack capability. It must be capable of quickly attacking an enemy using rapid aerospace dominance and also providing airlift and tanker support to sustain operations of all kinds. Providing this capability requires modern systems and platforms. The average ages of the Air Force active duty, Guard and Reserve fleets all exceed 20 years. While new platforms are entering the inventory, they are not in sufficient enough quantity for the situation to improve. Today's Air Force aircraft have been in service for so long that maintaining the fleet is becoming increasingly costly and difficult-new platforms are urgently needed. AFA believes that the F-22 and F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) represent complementary capabilities and should be fully funded. The development of a new long-range strike platform should also be accelerated. Furthermore, DOD should procure additional C-17s beyond the 180 planned, press ahead with modernization of C-5s and C-130s and procure a modern tanker capability.

  Force Structure: Current requirements, including the global war on terrorism, have substantially increased operations and personnel tempo across the military. The problem is especially acute for the Air Force, with its heavy taskings in both Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom. The Air Force's 10 Air Expeditionary Forces were intended to have equal organic capabilities but they do not, i.e., only three have precision standoff strike capability and only nine have an F-16C squadron for suppression of enemy air defenses. The number of ISR platforms is less than optimal and they are in high demand, as are stealth systems. Some Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) assets lack appropriate compatibility with ISR systems though the situation is improving. Simply put, force structure is straining under these increased requirements. AFA believes force structure should be sized to match real-world requirements. The Administration and Congress should fund the equipment, organization and facilities required for the mission and find an efficient and fair method of identifying and reducing excess infrastructure.

  Nuclear Posture and Comprehensive Missile Defense: Withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty paves the way for robust research, development and testing of programs leading to a comprehensive missile defense. The Air Force has a critical role to play in the overall missile defense architecture. The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Space Base Laser (SBL) and Airborne Laser (ABL) are vital programs within this framework. While research into missile defense proceeds ahead, nuclear forces will also remain relevant for the foreseeable future. The Congressionally-mandated Nuclear Posture Review found that two-thirds of US nuclear warheads can be taken out of operational service by 2012 and the remaining warheads would be adequate to develop and maintain a strategic posture for the 21^st century. This force would include offensive strike systems, active and passive defenses, and a revitalized infrastructure to provide new capabilities. AFA believes nuclear deterrence provided by the triad of land-, air- and sea-based nuclear forces is vital to national security. The United States should maintain flexible, reliable and survivable nuclear forces while continuing to press ahead with research and testing leading to a comprehensive missile defense capability.

  Cyber Defense and Attack: In the information age, communication networks form the backbone of everything from national defense systems to commercial aviation to the stock market and the power grid. The emergence of computer hackers and viruses that instantly cross international borders pose a constant threat. In a single incident in 2001, the Nimda virus infected more than 100,000 government and business computers and destabilized networks within hours. U.S. vulnerability to cyber attack has not gone unnoticed by terrorists and reports indicate that al-Qaeda is planning large-scale cyber terrorism to cripple the U.S. economy. AFA believes it is crucial for the US to defend against cyber attack. Our response to an attack on our national information infrastructure must be swift and sure, just as it would be if we were subjected to physical attack. Protecting military, government and national networks will require increased cooperation between the private sector, DOD and other government agencies.

  Industrial Base Support: Nearly six decades after America's industrial might equipped the military force that won World War II, US military power remains very much dependent on manufacturing and technological superiority. Today's industrial base is only a fraction of what it once was and much of the defense industry is concentrated and consolidated. Additionally, information technology now drives many of the advances in air and space power and overall warfighter capability. The success of US Forces in the Gulf War, Kosovo and the war on terrorism, is due in large measure to technological superiority provided and supported by our industrial base, as well as superior organization and training. AFA believes that the US industrial base is vital to sustaining, modernizing and transforming our armed forces today and in the future. We must pursue sensible acquisition policies and business practices, and support the research, development and implementation of technology that is critical to the health of a world-class industrial capability. Moreover, we must nurture and strike the right balance in the partnership between the private sector, logistics centers, research labs and academia.

  Science and Technology Concerns: The Air Force Association is on record supporting an increased emphasis and investment in science and technology (S&T), research and development and industrial base facilities that will help produce breakthrough technologies for the Air Force of the future. The Department of Defense has stated its goal for investment in S&T is three percent of the overall DOD budget. Unfortunately, that goal has not been met. The level of Air Force and industry investment in S&T is also wanting and affects the recruiting and retention of scientists and technical personnel. Future military performance hinges on the investments we make today. The declining level of investment in defense related S&T is a concern. AFA supports the goal of increasing S&T investment to 3 percent of the overall DOD budget. Adequate resources are also needed to invigorate and strengthen the public/private partnership between the Air Force, industry, and academia in S&T.

  Military Health Care System: The primary goal of the military health care system is military readiness. The threat of bio-terrorism and weapons of mass destruction adds even more urgency to this basic mission. Against this backdrop, military treatment facilities are in dire need of recapitalization and the Air Force is struggling to retain physicians. Readiness and patient care will suffer if these and other problems are not addressed. AFA recognizes that the TRICARE For Life and TRICARE Senior Pharmacy programs are providing quality medical care and affordable prescription drug coverage to military retirees and their dependents–notable achievements. Still, problems linger in both the military direct care and managed care systems. The retention of physicians and critical care specialists in the Air Force is a major concern. The problems of military health care must be addressed to ensure military readiness.

  Commitment to Veterans: George Washington once wrote, "the willingness of future generations to serve in our military will be directly dependent upon how we have treated those who have served in the past." Today's veterans often find their benefits eroding due to a number of factors. For example, disabled veterans are required to forfeit one dollar of retired pay for every dollar of disability pay they receive due to a law dating back to 1890. Widows of veterans also face a number of shortsighted regulations that limit and offset annuitant benefits. Shortsighted and antiquated laws, along with underfunded budgets, are preventing former service members from receiving benefits and entitlements due them as the result of their service in the military. The opportunity to meet these commitments is fading fast as more than 1,000 American veterans are dying each day. AFA urges that action be taken now to correct inadequacies in the areas of veterans' health care, survivor benefits, concurrent receipt and burial honors.

Click here for the 2003 Top Issues PowerPoint Presentation