EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska— Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley met with Airmen and community leaders during a visit here Tuesday to discuss operations at Eielson Air Force Base and the service’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal.

During remarks at an “all call” of active duty and Air National Guard Airmen, Donley said the Air Force decided to trade size for quality as it developed its budget to support the Defense Department’s Defense Strategic Guidance amid increasing fiscal constraints.

“We face difficult choices going forward,” Donley said. “With our priorities in mind, I’m confident we can still take care of our people, as well as advance our Air Force capabilities.”

Donley spent the majority of his 30-minute speech speaking on the Air Force’s budget request and its proposed move of Eielson’s 18^th Aggressor Squadron, which would relocate roughly 19 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and 668 manpower positions to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Anchorage.

“We are moving the Aggressor Squadron so it’s located next to their primary customer, the 3^rd Wing’s F-22s, making it an efficient operational laydown going forward,” Donley said. “This action does not close Eielson, but it does provide us some projected savings in operational costs.”

The proposed budget and Air Force plan submitted by President Barack Obama to Congress has the Aggressors and military personnel moving to JBER in fiscal 2013. The Alaska Air National Guard’s 168^th Air Refueling Wing, based at Eielson, is not losing any aircraft or personnel, and the Air Force has no plans to change that, Donley said.