Enhancing Air Force Lethality

The U.S. Department of Defense has renewed its focus on maximizing readiness and lethality to address evolving security challenges. In this context, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF), highlighted several levers—force structure, infrastructure, end strength, and foundational budget accounts, such as weapon system sustainment—that could be adjusted to enhance lethality and combat effectiveness. However, he noted that the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF’s) limited control over the first three levers constrains its ability to divest itself of less-critical force structure and infrastructure; consequently, end strength is bound to support less-critical workforce demands instead of higher priorities.

In this paper, the authors introduce a multidimensional workforce segmentation framework designed to help CSAF and other USAF senior decisionmakers pull the end-strength lever in a manner that is within the service’s maneuver space. Specifically, they focus on workforce funding, offering a structured approach that enables senior leaders to differentiate lethal and less-lethal workforce segments for potential funding realignment opportunities. They outline the end-strength lever’s limitations, contrast them with the advantages afforded by various workforce segmentation models, and demonstrate two practical applications of the multidimensional framework. The authors conclude by proposing that if senior leaders seek to use end strength as a lever to influence enterprise changes, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services should develop a plan to implement and sustain this workforce analytics framework and recommend steps to institutionalize the analytical approach described in this paper.