Air Force extends deployments indefinitely

Because thousands of additional troops are needed to support the ongoing war against terrorism and the buildup in the Persian Gulf, the Air Force is no longer limiting deployments of airmen to three months.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper announced the change late last month. Since 1999, the Air Force has been deploying airmen for three-month rotations every 15 months.

Maj. Gen. Timothy Peppe, special assistant to the chief of staff of the Air Force's air and space expeditionary forces, says about 20,000 airmen due home this month after three-month rotations have been told they will remain deployed indefinitely. Additionally, thousands of airmen scheduled to replace those forces are being told that they can expect to stay well beyond three months.

"Can I tell you when they are going to come home? I can't," says Peppe.

The longer deployments apply to both active duty and reserve units.

The Air Force changed the way it managed and deployed forces three years ago, because demand for air power had increased nearly fourfold since the end of the Cold War. The new plan divided the Air Force into 10 prepackaged combat units, known as aerospace expeditionary forces (AEFs) that can deploy anywhere within 48 hours.

Each AEF unit comprises 12,600 airmen, 90 combat aircraft, 31 cargo and air-refueling aircraft, and 13 critical aircraft and systems for command and control, communications, intelligence, and combat search and rescue.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Peppe says about 1,500 airmen in each AEF rotation have already stayed beyond three months. Those serving extended tours are in specialized career fields with shortages of personnel, such as security, intelligence and combat engineering.

The AEF concept was designed to provide more stability and predictability to the deployment schedules of airmen, and to allow more training for forces when they are not deployed. Peppe conceded that when airmen are deployed they are not getting the training they would at home, but, he says, deployments allow them to test their skills in real-world operations.

Peppe says the Air Force always had expected the AEF would need to be "extended" during crises, when more forces are needed. He said the service would return to regular rotations as soon as possible.

"I don't view our expeditionary nature as decreasing," Peppe said.