Maintaining an agile Air Force that proactively meets the technological and tactical advances of the enemy is of the utmost importance, according to AF Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz.“This demands that the United States Air Force set a clear vision of how it will move to meet emerging threats and fulfill evolving requirements,” Gen. Norton A. Schwartz said during his address to the 38th Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis-Fletcher Conference on National Security, Strategy and Policy. “We must establish clear priorities for investment and yes, divestment, all while corresponding to strategic and fiscal realities.”
Schwartz, the only Chief of Staff to have a background as a fighter or bomber pilot, told the crowd that an Air Force that is able to adapt quickly and remain flexible is crucial.
“While this is a conference on air, space and cyber power, we must remember that national defense is a total team effort,” he said. “Further joint integration and inter-service cooperation toward enhanced air-land and air-sea interoperability remains a top strategic imperative.”
Noting the important role of fuel in the Air Force’s daily operations, Schwartz pointed out the benefits in cutting down gas consumption:
“The Air Force consumes more petroleum each year than any other agency in the U.S. government, and thus is the most susceptible to energy-price volatility and disruption of logistics lines,” he said. “Each $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil equates to a $600 million increase in fuel costs to the Air Force.”