[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75334-75335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29483]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Meeting of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air 
Force

AGENCY: Director of Administration and Management, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of advisory committee meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Defense is publishing this notice to 
announce a Federal advisory committee closed meeting of the National 
Commission on the Structure of the Air Force (``the Commission'').

DATES: Dates of Closed Meeting: Wednesday, December 4, 2013 from 12:00 
p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, December 5, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 
p.m.; and Friday, December 6, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: 2521 South Clark Street, Suite 200, Crystal City, VA 22202 
and, as necessary, a secure video teleconferencing line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Marcia Moore, Designated Federal 
Officer, National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, 1950 
Defense Pentagon, Room 3A874, Washington, DC 20301-1950. Email: 
[email protected]. Desk (703) 545-9113. Facsimile (703) 
692-5625.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Due to difficulties finalizing the meeting 
agenda for the scheduled meeting of the National Commission on the 
Structure of the Air Force for December 4-6, 2013, the requirements of 
41 CFR 102-3.150(a) were not met. Accordingly, the Advisory Committee 
Management Officer for the Department of Defense, pursuant to 41 CFR 
102-3.150(b), waives the 15-calendar day notification requirement.
    Purpose of Meeting: This meeting was held under the provisions of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, 
as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, 
as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.150. The 3-day meeting was held to 
conduct a wargame among staff and Commissioner participants while 
exploring issues concerning the mix of the Active and Reserve 
Components and how to better invest in and manage human capital assets.
    Relative to the force structure mix among the Active Component, 
Reserve Component, and the Air National Guard, the objectives of the 
wargame are to (1) assess the advantages and disadvantages of 
contending approaches to the future structure of the U.S. Air Force; 
(2) identify current policies, procedures, practices and legislation 
that need to change in order to make the future structure of the U.S. 
Air Force more effective; and (3) understand stakeholder interests in 
the future structure of the U.S. Air Force and assess their anticipated 
responses to the Commissions' findings and recommendations. 
Commissioners will pose as key stakeholders, which include the 
Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of the 
U.S. Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, and the 
Combatant Commanders. As a result of the wargame, Commissioners will 
have a sharper understanding of the policies under consideration, a 
more rigorous analysis of the implications of their emerging findings, 
and a more credible basis for their recommendations.
    Three teams will be formed and each will be assigned to develop a 
unique mix among the Active Component, Reserve Component, and the Air 
National Guard. One team will be instructed to develop a future U.S. 
Air Force with 65% Active Component and 35% Reserve Component. This 
force mix matches the force mix planned for fiscal year 2015. A second 
team will build a future U.S. Air Force with 55% Active Component and 
45% Reserve Component. The third team will plan a future U.S. Air Force 
with 35% Active Component and 65% Reserve Component and Air National 
Guard. The team assignments, assumptions, and resources are designed 
solely for analytical purposes and must not be construed to imply the 
Commissioner's preference for any particular force structure as stated 
in this notice. The outcomes of the Active Component and Reserve 
Component force mix in the wargame will provide insight--not final 
answers. The insights gained from the wargame will highlight issues 
requiring further analysis. The first day of the wargame will be 
dedicated to reviewing how the wargame will be conducted. All teams are 
to be given the same set of assumptions, such as their resources will 
be constrained by the Budget Control Act and sequestration in 
accordance with the most stressing forecast developed by the DoD Office 
of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. Classified data will also be

[[Page 75335]]

taken from the U.S. Air Force's Alternative Program Objective 
Memorandum for fiscal year 2015. The teams' strategies will be governed 
by the fiscal year 2014 Defense Planning Guidance and Integrated 
Scenario Construct, which are both classified documents. The teams will 
be given the same quantitative boundaries, a decision support tool to 
define trade-offs among variables, and a re-balancing tool to balance 
the total force mix across the range of choices for all mission sets 
and Core Functions of the U.S. Air Force.
    The second day of the meeting involves a crisis planning exercise 
for a hypothetical war scenario that occurs in 2018. The scenario 
employed will be adapted from the Chairman of the Joint Chief of 
Staff's Strategic Seminar involving a crisis that rapidly devolves into 
a multi-theater conflict. Each team will play the role of the U.S. Air 
Force as force provider to the Combatant Commands. The scenario 
requires maintaining a sizable force in the contiguous United States 
for homeland defense. The last day of the meeting will be reserved for 
the Commissioners to deliberate and answer the following questions:
    Should the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve be integrated 
into a single component?
    Can the forms of mobilization be further reduced and rationalized?
    Would it be effective to consider dissimilar designs for Reserve 
Component units conducting the same missions as Active Components?
    Can additional functions be transferred to the civilian or 
contractor work forces?
    Would a base realignment and closure process be prudent?
    What legislative changes are needed?
    What additional issues were identified by the wargame?
    Meeting Accessibility: In accordance with section 10(d) of the 
FACA, 5 U.S.C. 552b, and 41 CFR 102-3.155, the DoD determined that the 
December 4-6, 2013 meeting will be closed to the public in its 
entirety. Specifically, the Director of Administration and Management, 
with the coordination of the DoD FACA Attorney, has determined in 
writing that this meeting will be closed to the public because it 
discussed classified information and matters covered by 5 U.S.C. 
552b(c)(1).
    Written Comments: Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.105(j) and 102-3.140 and 
section 10(a)(3) of the FACA, the public or interested organizations 
may submit written comments to the Commission in response to the stated 
agenda of the open and/or closed meeting or the Commission's mission. 
The Designated Federal Officer (DFO) will review all submitted written 
statements before forwarding to the Commission. Written comments should 
be submitted to Mrs. Marcia Moore, DFO, via facsimile or electronic 
mail, the preferred modes of submission. Each page of the comment must 
include the author's name, title or affiliation, address, and daytime 
phone number. All contact information may be found in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section. While written comments are forwarded to 
the Commissioners upon receipt, note that all written comments on the 
Commission's charge, as described in the `Background' section, must be 
received by 5:00 p.m. on December 13, 2013 to be considered by the 
Commissioners for the final report. This deadline for emailed and faxed 
comments has been extended from November 29, 2013. The postmark 
deadline to mail comments was November 8, 2013.

Background

    The National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force was 
established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2013 (Pub. L. 112-239). The Department of Defense sponsor for the 
Commission is the Director of Administration and Management, Mr. 
Michael L. Rhodes. The Commission is tasked to submit a report, 
containing a comprehensive study and recommendations, by February 1, 
2014 to the President of the United States and the Congressional 
defense committees. The report will contain a detailed statement of the 
findings and conclusions of the Commission, together with its 
recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions it may 
consider appropriate in light of the results of the study. The 
comprehensive study of the structure of the U.S. Air Force will 
determine whether, and how, the structure should be modified to best 
fulfill current and anticipated mission requirements for the U.S. Air 
Force in a manner consistent with available resources.
    The evaluation factors under consideration by the Commission are 
for a U.S. Air Force structure that--(a) meets current and anticipated 
requirements of the combatant commands; (b) achieves an appropriate 
balance between the regular and reserve components of the Air Force, 
taking advantage of the unique strengths and capabilities of each; (c) 
ensures that the regular and reserve components of the Air Force have 
the capacity needed to support current and anticipated homeland defense 
and disaster assistance missions in the United States; (d) provides for 
sufficient numbers of regular members of the Air Force to provide a 
base of trained personnel from which the personnel of the reserve 
components of the Air Force could be recruited; (e) maintains a 
peacetime rotation force to support operational tempo goals of 1:2 for 
regular members of the Air Forces and 1:5 for members of the reserve 
components of the Air Force; and (f) maximizes and appropriately 
balances affordability, efficiency, effectiveness, capability, and 
readiness.

    Dated: December 5, 2013.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2013-29483 Filed 12-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P