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Air Force Drawdown - What will happen to the Air Force? The United States Air Force's downsizing will make it difficult to sustain it current Operational Tempo (OPSTEMPO). When you remove 40,000 people in a five year period, unit readiness will suffer dramatically. The drawdown is an effort to recapitalize their weapon systems. The Secretary of the Air Force has testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Air Force needs to transform to a smaller, leaner and more capable force to face future opponents. There are voluntary and involuntary programs available to pare the force to 316,000 personnel. If voluntary programs are ineffective, the Air Force will turn to involuntary means. This drawdown will affect the following areas of the Air Force: recruiting, retention and mission readiness. These three areas are important to the sustainment of the Air Force. Even though they are in a drawdown, they still need to recruit. If they fail to recruit, then a "bathtub" will be created that will last for ten to fifteen years. The question they need to ask themselves is "Why would anyone want to join an organization with the knowledge that the will be asked to leave two or three years later?" Whenever you are hired for a job, you can always be fired. However, why apply for a job if you knew you were going to be fired or let go. Additionally, they need to recruit individuals who can assist in their goal of recapitalizing the force. By focusing recruiting to people with technical type of degrees (i.e., engineering, meteorology), they can ensure that their research and development teams are well equipped and ready to design new weapons systems.