LITTLE ROCK — A joint congressional committee agreed Tuesday on a $631 billion defense authorization bill that continues development at Little Rock Air Force Base of an avionics upgrade for older C-130 cargo planes and allows the Air Force to end the Arkansas National Guard’s A-10 fighter mission.
The bill will go before the full House and Senate in the next two days.
Arkansas’ congressional delegation has been working for a year to thwart an Air Force plan to move the Arkansas National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing from flying A-10 close-air support jets to remotely piloting unmanned drones. The plan would leave hundreds of National Guardsmen, primarily airplane mechanics, without full-time jobs.
The full details of the approved defense bill were not released Tuesday. But the legislative summary says it lifts a freeze on moving A-10s and F-16s from some locations, which had been imposed by the individual House and Senate bills. At the very least, that leaves the 188th vulnerable to cuts at the discretion of Air Force leaders.
The Air Force released a revised force-structure plan within the past week that in- cluded the plan to take the 188th’s planes away.
“There’s just so much unknown right now as far as a timeline and what the final impact is right now on the 188th; we’re trying to work through that,” said Maj. Gen. Bill Wofford, Arkansas’ adjutant general. “I’m not sure what part of this will be in the final decision. It’s kind of frustrating.”
Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., said his “understanding is the National Defense Authorization Act is going to allow the Air Force to remove the A-10s from Fort Smith.”
Documents indicate that no planes will be moved for at least a year, he said, adding that the situation’s “clearly disappointing.”
The Air Force made the proposed cuts based on the concept of one Air National Guard flying mission per state. Arkansas has the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base and the 188th.
Rep. Steve Womack, RArk., whose district includes 188th headquarters at Fort Smith, said that concept was described to him as a “cornerstone principle,” by a Defense Department official.
“It’s that one notion where we lose out,” he said. “We can’t compete on that cornerstone principle. ... And at some point you have to look up and admit that some things can’t be overcome.”
The 189th trains crews as instructors for the active-duty C-130 schoolhouse. It also has been the home unit for the development of C-130AMP, the avionics upgrade.
For more than a decade, the wing has been scheduled to train crews to fly the older C-130s with upgraded Boeing avionics. The upgrade was in the final testing phase with three planes on the ramp when the program was frozen in January amid budget negotiations.
The defense authorization bill that came out of conference Tuesday allows the program to continue.
The bill also calls for an independent study of the Air Force structure to determine future needs for cuts and efficiencies.
The Arkansas delegation has been asking for a similar study for a year as part of its request to see the justification used in deciding to replace the 188th’s A-10 mission with drones.
“What they’ve said is the Air Force has the ability to come forward and do what it thinks is best for reconfiguring its forces,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark. “This allows the Air Force to go ahead and make a plan and go forward. No one knows exactly what that plan will be. We will continue to make the case for the 188th as the most cost-efficient base in the country.”
On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta described growing the fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles — drones — as a focus of the Defense Department’s new strategic policy.
“For example, despite budget reductions, we are expanding our fleet of unmanned systems — this is the future,” he said. “... Drones — when I talked about unmanned systems, the fact is that unmanned systems are increasing in the world ... within the United States is — is one of the leaders in terms of using drone capability, and it served us very well, particularly in the fight against terrorism.”
Griffin said the argument by the Arkansas delegation is still valid in that the Air Force still has not released its justification for shifting the A-10 mission from the 188th, which has deployed to Afghanistan twice in the past three years.
“Our arguments are still valid and the only question is, do we have another way to enforce them,” he said.
Womack agreed that the arguments in favor of a flying mission at the 188th are strong, as it is the “most costeffective and accomplished A-10 unit in the Air Force.” But, he added, a drone mission is better than no mission.
“We’re waiting to see what comes out of this. The battle’s not over,” said Kevin Wear, former 188th commander and chairman of the community steering committee lobbying to save the 188th’s A-10 mission.
He is hoping the independent study will include a look at the 188th.
“All we need is an objective look beyond the idea of one flying wing per state,” he said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/19/2012