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Top Air Force leaders discuss top Air Force issues

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WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Air Force senior leaders discussed key issues facing the service during Corona South March 27-28 at Bolling Air Force Base here.

Corona meetings, hosted by the secretary of the Air Force and Air Force chief of staff, are held several times a year to bring together major command commanders, Air Staff civilian leaders, Air Force combatant commanders and the chief master sergeant of the Air Force. The purpose is to advance discussion or make decisions on challenges facing the Air Force.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz also use Corona as a forum to solicit feedback on major Air Force initiatives prior to implementation and keep senior leaders informed on Department of Defense and administration issues.

Secretary Donley opened the "Executing the Joint Fight" themed-conference with a general update on the current status and timeline for the president's budget and subsequent related congressional hearing schedule.

In his opening remarks, General Schwartz told participants he welcomed their "frank discussions" on the issues presented.

Attendees received an update on the process for the Defense Department's upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, as well as briefings on counterinsurgency/irregular warfare, Air Force network command and control and a case study on readiness.

Air component sizing was also a discussion item, including how to best use the manpower authorizations committed to that mission set. Attendees were advised that this topic would be further examined in the coming months, with a proposal expected for delivery this summer.

Key Air Force priorities also were addressed, including progress reports on nuclear enterprise and acquisition excellence initiatives.

A status update on the Air Force nuclear roadmap, now six months into implementation, was briefed. Both the secretary and the chief expressed support to engage unit commanders now that the major policy pieces have been addressed and as Global Strike Command-related activities move ahead.

"Bringing commanders into the process now will operationally ground those policies," said General Schwartz, "helping to re-establish the culture of precision and reliability in our nuclear enterprise."

The Corona agenda also included discussion of significant initiatives to address the Air Force's priority to recapture acquisition excellence, together with progress on the development of the service's acquisition improvement plan.

The secretary called the intended spring rollout of the acquisition improvement plan "good news."

"The Air Force has taken a close look at itself and has been working the issue hard," said Secretary Donley. "We recognize how complex the acquisition enterprise is and we must continue to strengthen our workforce and internal procedures so we can deliver products and services that perform as promised, on time, within budget."

Developing Airmen was another priority area addressed through numerous personnel and manpower briefings. Personnel issues included an update on Air Force diversity efforts, advanced academic degree consideration and the command chief selection process.

On the enlisted side, senior raters will play a larger role in the command chief selection process, helping to widen the list of chief master sergeant candidates considered for these leadership positions.

"Our goal is to utilize the expertise of the senior raters in helping identify chief master sergeants who would be worthy candidates for these top leadership positions," said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley.

Regarding Air Force organization, attendees were briefed on organizational thresholds and criteria for defining squadron, group and wing units. The group decided major commands must re-certify all non-standard organizations to ensure the structure of each doesn't exceed the established manpower standard for unit size without a waiver.

Implementation memos and more detailed plans will be released in the coming weeks as the staff executes the decisions from the Corona South meeting. Issues requiring more study, as well as other topics for senior leader consideration, will be presented to the group at Corona Top later this year.