European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 29, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 292007 stars and stripes pages of readiness Down 17 percent since 2001 by Lisa Burgess stars and stripes Arlington a air Force readiness is Down 17 per cent since 2001 according to Gen Ronald keys commander of the air combat command personnel and airframes Are both feeling the Strain of High operations tempos provoked by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan keys told reporters monday at boiling air Force base in Washington at a press round table with nine other air Force Gener als during a combat air forc air forces com Manders conference the air Force uses a sliding scale of cd to c4 to measure the readiness with units graded cd and c2 prepared to go and accomplish the Mission he said but when units Are rated c3 or c4 you have to find major workarounds keys said since 2001 the air Force has seen the percentage of units incl and c2 status in a steady de Cline keys said Wear and tear on the Fleet is visible said Gen Duncan Mcnabb commander of the air mobility command but personnel Are also a con Cern keys said especially the so called on Toone dwell time on Toone dwell is what the air Force Calls the six months on six months off deployment schedule airmen with High de Mand skills such As air trans port Crews military police or intelligence experts Are experiencing the troop increase for Iraq announced by president Bush in january put an additional Strain on air transport capabilities Mcnabb said although the air Force is still determining How Many transport Crews it will ultimately have to contribute to the so called surge Effort mobility could be Large num Bers of air Force personnel Mcnabb said were not sure keys said the air Force is also analysing How Many fighter planes and pilots it will contrib Ute along with intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance As sets such As unmanned Aerial vehicles avs and their Crews the air Force is preparing to Call for c130 Reserve air Crews to Volunteer for deployments said it Gen John Bradley chief of air Force Reserve the service has to ask for volunteers instead of mobilizing reservists outright because All of the air forces c130 Reserve Crews reached their two year mobilization limit in the fall of 2006 Bradley said the Force has about 150 c130 Crews in the reserves Bradley said and not having a Cess to those Crews potentially puts a serious Strain on the ser vices ability to provide trans port in combat zones Jim Miller a spokesman for the air Force Reserve com Mand at Robins air Force base a told stripes on tuesday that air Force reserves provide 21 percent of int Heater Airlift in the Middle East Brian e of the us air Force North Carolina air National guard members make their Way to their c130 Hercules feb 6 at Charlotte no due to strains on the Force the air Force is about to ask c130 Reserve air Crews which Are All maxed out on their service commitments to Volunteer instead said Gen Duncan Mcnabb commander of the air mobility command that percentage could include a combination of c17 and c130 aircraft he said but most of it is probably c130s because that the stated purpose of the c130 to Fly in tra theater As opposed to opposed to Long Range flights he said when the Reserve c130 Crews began to Max out on their remaining service time the air Force filled the gaps with the c17 transport Mcnabb said the next step he said is to have More Active duty and re serve units sharing c130 air Craft As the air Force once did with its strategic bomber Force the first mixed serve c130 unit will be in Chey Enne Wyo Mcnabb said the 153rd Airlift Wing of the air National meanwhile however Mcnabb and Bradley said they Are confident that enough c130 Crews will answer the Call to Volunteer i think we can do this c130 business for a Long Long time with volunteers not mobilizations Bradley said email Lisa Burgess at kanto Plains Baptist Church Best deals online  Southern Baptist Church Tel 042551 1915 Sun school am Sun evening 6 pm Sun worship 11 am wed evening pm Al m ii Yoko airbase please ask about other destinations last minute booking of i  Monfri daily Shuket daily Hono Milru mowed Fristat daily daily daily in Iii Seoul daily Honor Lulu los Angeles Iko 10 m19 09 Sunn atonal Hemiy 11 00 18 00 i 10 0019 0017 00 Lamsis Kluj Monfry 0020 lion Hoij trav dosed i Sunn Tiomi Hadw closer Sim Nilion hold stay closed 2f a Mac she Juke of uhf no Zabu so Ibura 3f be big Yokohama 10 20 11 i hoi May payment japanese Only credit Heardt at All meals i across from Yokosuka Mam Gate 21 Honcho Yokosuk Ashi