AEF Pack Versus Annual Tours: Is Breaking Templates and Traditions the Answer For AFRC/CE

摘要

The Air Force is immersed in the Expeditionary Aerospace Force (EAF) philosophy and has aggressively taken on implementation of this concept through the employment of Aerospace Expeditionary Forces (AEF). These force packages provide the full spectrum of aerospace power to combatant commanders in tailorable units to use as any situation dictates. One selling point of the AEF system is that it provides stability and predictability to airmen. As a Total Force partner, the Air Force Reserve community has stepped up to participate hand-in-glove with the active duty members as one force. From an aviation- centric mindset, this works well for both the active duty and Reserve forces. However, such is not necessarily the case for Reserve expeditionary combat support, specifically in the civil engineer community. Primarily through interviews with key members of the Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command Civil Engineer Readiness Division, the author explored challenges the Reserve engineers face in being active participants in the AEF system. The issues range from simple differences from the aviation community to difficulties in working with the traditional Reserve 2-week tour concept to continuity problems at deployed locations. The author proposes four solutions: volunteerism backed by predictable mobilization, pure volunteerism to relieve active duty tempo, deploy as special projects teams, and employ Directed Annual Tours to backfill active duty units at CONUS bases.