{"id":5115,"date":"2017-09-27T17:45:32","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T17:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/27\/4-star-new-study-to-determine-if-mobility-aircraft-are-properly-distributed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T19:59:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T19:59:43","slug":"4-star-new-study-to-determine-if-mobility-aircraft-are-properly-distributed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/27\/4-star-new-study-to-determine-if-mobility-aircraft-are-properly-distributed\/","title":{"rendered":"4-star: New study to determine if mobility aircraft are properly distributed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Air Mobility Command is ramping up efforts to ensure its aircraft are distributed throughout the Air Force in a way to maximize readiness, according to AMC\u2019s commander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 1,030 aircraft in the AMC fleet, with 514 of them designated for active duty, 352 in the Air National Guard and 164 in the Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those numbers are based on a 2013 Mobility Capability Assessment study that assessed the command\u2019s inventory to see how many aircraft it should have and where they should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the United States responding to security challenges from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, the mobility world needs to know how to best meet those needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo we have the right mix between active duty, Guard and Reserve to meet [those needs] in a timely manner?\u201d Gen. Carlton Everhart, AMC\u2019s commander, told Air Force Times on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find the answer, the command wants to run a new study that will provide updated data on where the fleet stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study \u201cwill bring us up to speed with the latest caveats, posture and inventory,\u201d Everhart said. \u201cIs it enough? It may say, \u2018You\u2019re sitting perfect.\u2019 It may say, \u2018hey you\u2019ve got too [many aircraft] in active duty or [the Guard or the Reserve].\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Air Force Maj. Jody Turk, assistant director of operations with the 730th Air Mobility Training Squadron, and Maj. Bryan Bailey, a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft flight commander, review a preflight checklist at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. (A1C Levin Boland\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everhart said he\u2019s hoping to start the study in 2018 or 2019 and have it completed by 2020 or 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AMC aircraft and airmen are currently supporting war operations in the Middle East, as well as natural disasters in the United States, Everhart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are all over the map,\u201d he said. \u201cThat strains the force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pace of operations also forces the command to tap into its Guard and Reserve airmen, which puts a strain on civilian employers, including commercial airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the national pilot shortage affecting the Air Force\u2019s fighter and mobility communities as well as commercial partners, the two sides are working together to find compromises to help each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everhart met with the Regional Airline Association\u2019s board of directors Tuesday to discuss the way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One suggestion is to open a national pilot training academy, where civilian and military pilots can do most of their training in simulators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everhart, who has accumulated more than 4,500 flight hours, said 80 percent of his C-17 training was done in a simulator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe it\u2019s higher quality,\u201d he said, adding that pilots can best train for emergency situations in a simulator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civilian pilots need to reach 1,500 flying hours, but simulators don\u2019t count toward that. Establishing an academy would change how the airline industry accounts for simulator training and experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\t