Costs of flying units in Air Force active and reserve components

by Albert A. Robbert

The relative costs of operating and supporting Air Force active- and reserve-component units are an important consideration in programming the mix of forces for various missions. Unfortunately, there are no generally accepted or well-documented methodologies for compiling the costs and output measures to be included in these comparisons. This report describes the development of one such methodology and applies it to an exploration of force mix alternatives in several weapon systems. Using data from the Air Force Total Ownership Cost decision support system from fiscal years 2006 through...