In my opinion this is just one of those nothing burger news article, 1000 of 350,000 is about what 1/3 of 1%.
My gut feeling is probably 90% of airman that reach it to retirement never ever deployed in their service time. I may be wrong about that. The Air Force is totally different then the Army, Navy, or Marines were deployment is very common, like I said I may be wrong about that though.
Most airmen deployed. Lots depends on the specialty. Security forces? Deploy a LOT! Supply? A lot less.
The Army deployed a lot more people, of course. But no way 90% of airmen go a career without deploying. We were also deploying & monitoring the no-fly zones over Iraq for years where the Army didn’t deploy much.
That’s far from the current reality. The vast majority of Airmen deploy, and even more if Reserve or Guard. It depends on your AFSC, and needs. The USAF doesn’t deploy en-masse, and uses individual squadrons or wings to provide resources to combatant commands.
Many USAF specialties have a higher rate of deployments than other services, because of limited resources and assets. Like all Services, there are some who just miss out due to scheduling and a small number who actively avoid their commitments.
Two years ago, I was medically disqualified from my last deployment, and should have been medically discharged. I have 22 years in, and have deployed twice, but have rheumatoid arthritis. I’d be happy if big Air Force kicks me out. Since I can’t deploy, someone qualified should take my place.