“But 24 years of continual combat operations, coupled with constrained and unstable budgets, has taken its toll. America needs a force ready for a spectrum of operations more global and complex than ever before. Instead, a relentless operations tempo, with fewer resources to fund, coordinate, and execute training and exercises, has left a force proficient in only those portions of the mission necessary for current operations. This is not the Air Force America expects…but today, it is the Air Force America owns. Today’s Air Force is the smallest and oldest it has ever been, even while the demand for airpower continues to climb. There is no excess; there is no “bench” …everything is committed. When called into action, today’s Air Force cannot respond in one corner of the Earth without diluting its presence elsewhere. The blanket of American airpower covering the globe has thinned; in places, it is nearly threadbare. As we have cut our capacity, we have found our capability equally diminished – the two qualities are inextricably linked. Today’s Air Force is the smallest and oldest it has ever been, even while the demand for airpower continues to climb. There is no excess; there is no “bench” …everything is committed. When called into action, today’s Air Force cannot respond in one corner of the Earth without diluting its presence elsewhere. The blanket of American airpower covering the globe has thinned; in places, it is nearly threadbare. As we have cut our  capacity, we have found our capability equally diminished – the two qualities are inextricably linked.”