Assessing the Effects of Bush Administration National Security Policy on the Air Force Active/Reserve Component Mix

What effect will the Bush Administration's National Security Strategy (NSS) and Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) have on the Air Force's current reserve component/active component (RC/AC) mix? Recent studies and guidance regarding the force mix have typically attempted to predict how variables and planning factors can affect the proportion of the RC relative to the Air Force Future Total Force (FTF) team comprised of the active Air Force, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserve. In this case, the political factor, represented by the current administration's new post cold war strategy, has produced an unexpected result that minimally affects the relative proportions of the components, but significantly contributes to the Air Force redefining volunteerism (i.e. participating in lengthy deployments without activation but in a volunteer status) to avoided undesirable changes to its existing RC/AC mix.