Pressure will only intensify in the coming years to reduce defense spending due to a budget climate "unlike anything we have encountered in decades," wrote Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, in his CSAF Vector 2011, July 4 2011. He pledged for the coming year to "strengthen unit readiness and avoid a creeping hollow force." Here, Schwartz
learns about improvements in the F-35 strike fighter's ejection seat during a visit to Eglin AFB, Fla., June 23, 2011.
Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.