Editorial: Above all, be forthright

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Editorial: Above all, be forthright

Over the past several years, the Air Force has spent an average of $53 million on its recruiting ads. It hasn’t missed a monthly recruiting goal since 1999. So good is its record, that even though it already has the lowest recruiter-to-recruit ratio of all the services, the Air Force plans to cut the number of recruiters in the years to come.

So why is the Air Force trying to push through a $59 million increase in its 2009 advertising budget?

“Without the funding,” the service argues in budget documents, “the ability to educate the American public about Air Force roles and missions will be limited,” as will its “ability to maintain its stature amongst the other services.”

That’s what this appears to be about: competing for attention — and dollars — with the other services in a time of war, when the Air Force isn’t getting the attention its leaders think it deserves.

Skeptical congressmen quizzed Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne and Chief of Staff Michael Moseley on March 11 on whether this campaign isn’t an illegal attempt to lobby Congress.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_editorial_ad_032408/