For years, the Air Force's air-lifter fleet has felt the strain of relentless operational demands. That pressure has begun eating away at future capabilities of USAF's transports. The service has launched studies of how best to remedy the problem, but what's really needed is a long-term commitment to maintain something more than the bare minimum of air mobility forces. That's the word from Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, head of Air Mobility Command, as he sizes up the effect on the transports of seven years of nonstop warfare. Lichte notes that most AMC aircraft have been flying at rates well above planned usage levels for some time. Although the command is maintaining the pace and meeting wartime demands, there's a price to be paid: Aircraft service lives are being consumed faster than expected. They'll either have to be somehow rested in order to get them to last out their predicted service lives, or they'll have to be replaced sooner than is now programmed or funded.
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机译：多年来，空军的空中升降机机队已经感受到了无情的作战需求。这种压力已经开始蚕食美国空军的运输能力。该部门已经开始研究如何最好地解决该问题，但是真正需要的是长期的承诺，以维持比最低限度的空中机动部队更多的力量。这就是空中机动司令部负责人亚瑟·J·利希特（Arthur J. Lichte）将军的话，因为他在评估连续7年不间断战争对运输的影响。利希特（Lichte）指出，一段时间以来，大多数AMC飞机的飞行速度都远高于计划的使用水平。尽管该命令能够保持步伐并满足战时需求，但仍需要付出一定的代价：飞机使用寿命的消耗比预期的要快。为了使它们达到预期的使用寿命，必须以某种方式使它们休息，或者必须比现在的计划或资金更早地更换它们。
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