ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Entering his second year as the chief of Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command, Lt. Gen. John Healy released his second Task Order, TASKORD 2023-1, and the Reserve’s Enlisted Force Development Strategy at AFRC’s Wing Commander and Command Chief Conference in Dallas Aug. 3.
The TASKORD lays out the steps each member of the Air Force Reserve enterprise needs to take to ensure the command is ready to deter, and if necessary, defeat a peer adversary.
Healy’s strategic priorities for the command, Ready Now! and Transforming for the Future, have not changed. In the new TASKORD, Healy expounds on the role each member of the Reserve enterprise has in ensuring the command is achieving these priorities.
“There is little change from the initial situation that prompted TASKORD 22,” Healy said in introducing the new TASKORD. “Budget cycles continue to demand hard choices and tremendous change to build the Air Force the nation needs. This has and will continue to be demonstrated in new missions, divestiture of legacy weapons systems or shifts across mission areas.”
The general went on to say that AFRC will continue to face challenges in the current and upcoming years as he anticipates little or no growth in top-line budget authority, continuing resolutions, and rebalancing funds to enable needed training, development and re-missioning of some units.
“We still expect leaders at every level to build readiness while maintaining unwavering support of our individual Airmen,” Healy said. “This past year has been productive, but we must continue our commitment to readiness, force development and affecting positive change across the Air Force Reserve.”
In announcing the Reserve Enlisted Force Development Strategy, Healy and his senior enlisted advisor, Chief Master Sgt. Israel Nuñez, said that current conditions require the Air Force Reserve to prioritize the recruitment, retention and development of a ready and resilient force to maintain the advantage against peer competitors, while transforming to meet the threats of tomorrow and build the Air Force Reserve the nation needs.
“The command must improve the way we develop, assess performance, evaluate promotion readiness, provide effective feedback, manage talent and foster long-term growth and retention of the enlisted force,” Healy said. “The need to advance, coupled with renewed focus on a command-wide enlisted development and force management strategy, serve to increase retention of highly qualified Airmen and increase organizational performance and talent management.”
The strategy has three lines of effort: Build Combat-Ready Airmen, Deliberate Talent Management, and Accountability and Standards.
“Chief Nuñez will have primary responsibility for defining our Enlisted Force Development Strategy and leading this strategic effort,” Healy said. “Through collaboration with numbered Air Force, wing and staff stakeholders, a phased plan and approach, grounded in data analytics, will be published no later than 1 November.”