Volume 48, No. 18, October 05, 2006
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AIMING HIGH: The Reshape and Rebalance projects are complex and will take time to complete in order for Air Force to meet today’s prorities and prepare for future challenges.
Photo by
LACW Melina Mancuso |
YOU all know that Air Force is very busy and many areas are under stress. Our two projects, Rebalance and Reshape, are addressing problems and preparing Air Force for the new systems that will be introduced over the next ten years or so.
Rebalance aims to ensure that Air Force’s current workforce is distributed in the best way to meet today’s priorities. A major rebalance effort was undertaken earlier this year.
This relied heavily on unit reviews undertaken over the past couple of years, as well as requirements for imminent changes such as introduction of the C-17 heavy airlift aircraft.
Based on strategic priorities, some positions were moved between units and new positions created, and Director General Personnel – Air Force has subsequently posted personnel to those prioritised positions.
Reshape aims to position the Air Force for the longer term. The initial focus is to ensure that Air Force will be able to make best use of the new systems that are being delivered in the future.
Many of these systems, such as the new tanker aircraft (KC-30B MRTT) and the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35 Lightning), are replacing our current systems, but we will need to ensure that we have the right people with the right skills to be able to transition to these new systems.
We still have to operate the legacy systems for some time as well. Systems such as the Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft are not replacing other systems and we have to grow a new workforce.
Many new systems require new types of skills that we don’t currently have in our workforce and we need to work out what those skills are and how to grow them before the new systems arrive.
Because the Reshape program has a longer view than that of Rebalance, we have more freedom to develop the right outcomes. We are developing plans that, subject to Defence and government
approval, will increase the overall strength of Air Force to allow us to make best use of the incoming systems and reduce the operational stress.
The Rebalance and Reshape activities are complex and it will be a while before we can do them well, but they are essential for the future of our Air Force.
For more information, visit http://intranet.defence.gov.au/raafweb/sites/AFRT/.
