Air Force chief releases latest assessment

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force chief of staff has released his latest assessment on how to better prepare the Air Force for the constantly evolving war on terror.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley released his latest CSAF Scope that officials say focuses largely on the reorganization of wing maintenance and logistics, the Air Force reported.

"As chief of staff, I'm responsible for organizing, training and equipping our Air Force to be the most lethal fighting organization on the planet," Moseley said in a statement. "The squadron is the building block of the Air Force structure and must be organized for success. I believe the most effective formula is to structure our squadrons by mission, not by function."

Moseley said the reorganization of squadrons is an effort to better prepare Air Force officers for combat operations by recognizing that to succeed, maintenance is vital.

"I've taken inputs from across the Air Force from crew chiefs to commanders," Moseley said. "To prepare for combat, we train like we fight ... so it only makes sense that we should also organize the way we fight. Aircraft maintenance is a vital element of a flying squadron's mission at home or deployed, and the maintainers that generate sorties belong in that chain of command.

"Accordingly, this coming year we will begin aligning maintenance units responsible for sortie generation together with their flying squadrons in our fighter and combat search and rescue units. I'm still examining options to ensure we have the right organizational solutions for our remaining platforms."