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Editorial: Upsetting the apple cart

When large corporations lay off workers, one can be sure that soon after will come calls to work smarter and be more efficient.

The Air Force is no different in that regard. But a smaller force — of airmen or auto workers — can only do so much.

That’s why it is encouraging to see Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley is reinvigorating Air Force strategic planning.

The desire is to prod the service into re-examining its missions and ensuring it is ready to meet the challenges and threats of the future. With fewer airmen and a tight budget, the Air Force and its leadership simply must become more adaptive and innovative.

The two pillars of this effort will be the Strategic Studies Group at the Pentagon — commonly known as Checkmate — and the Air University Research Institute at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

The primary mission of the 20 Air Force leaders and civilians on the Strategic Studies Group is to gather innovative ideas, develop them and provide advice to the chief — his quick-reaction force.

The focus of the research institute — which will eventually have close to 80 people on staff — is more long term. One might look at it as sort of an in-house Rand Corp., working just for the Air Force and taking months, if necessary, to fully research interesting ideas.

Lani Kass, a special assistant to Moseley, says strategic thinking has not been the long suit of the Air Force. Traditionally, it has been more adept at figuring out what is needed to complete a mission rather than how it might be done differently and better.

It’s easy to talk a good game. This effort will be successful only if the participants are willing to upset the apple cart and if Air Force leaders show they are willing to move in new directions.

If, for example, Air Force leaders drop the idea that they might be able to finagle another $20 billion a year from Congress for new planes and instead propose a radical approach to meeting tomorrow’s challenges, you’ll know the chief was on to something when he came up with this idea.