Air Force Bombers

Moving More B-1s to the Reserves Could Save Millions Without Reducing Mission Capability Gao ID: NSIAD-98-64 February 26, 1998

The Air Force could save as much as $235 million through the year 2003 without affecting peacetime training or wartime missions by assigning more B-1 bombers to reserve forces, which are less costly to operate than their active duty counterparts. B-1s are not based overseas, peacetime training can be scheduled around part-time reservists' civilian employment, reserve units can be mobilized to meet mission response times, and personnel tempo rates for B-1 unit personnel do not exceed the Air Force's maximum desired standard. However, the lack of recruitable personnel in some areas limits where reserve units can operate.

GAO noted that: (1) Air Force active and reserve components consider essentially the same operational factors in determining whether a mission is suitable for the reserve component; (2) factors Air Force officials consider include: (a) overseas presence; (b) peacetime training; (c) mission response times; (d) personnel tempo; and (e) personnel recruiting; (3) GAO's assessment of these factors showed that they do not preclude assigning more B-1s to the reserve component; (4) B-1s are not based overseas, peacetime training can be scheduled around part-time reservists' civilian employment, reserve units could mobilize to meet mission response times, and personnel tempo rates for B-1 unit personnel do not exceed the Air Force's maximum desired standard; (5) however, the lack of availability of recruitable personnel in some locations limits where reserve units can operate; (6) if the Air Force were to assign more B-1s to the reserve component than are currently planned, the cost to operate the B-1 fleet could be reduced--without adversely affecting day-to-day peacetime training or critical wartime missions or closing any bases; (7) GAO developed six options for assigning more B-1s to the reserves; and (8) based on Congressional Budget Office cost savings projections and GAO's analysis of other one-time costs, GAO estimates that implementing these options could produce savings ranging from $87.1 million to $235.3 million during the last 5 years (1999-2003) of the current Future Years Defense Program.

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