Air Force base in Jacksonville told to set cuts

Panetta calls move ‘prudent’

It isn’t known how flying time will be affected by spending cuts at active-duty military bases, including Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville. The information box contained incorrect information about reduced flying time.

— Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has ordered sweeping operational cuts at all active-duty bases that will reduce flying time and freeze building maintenance, new contracts, equipment purchases and civilian hiring at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville.

Panetta announced the cuts Thursday as a “prudent measure that will help mitigate our budget risk” if Congress doesn’t reach a budget deal by March 1, when mandatory sequestration - automatic, indiscriminate cuts across all federal agencies - will be triggered in the absence of an approved federal budget.

Congress’ delay in passing a budget and pending future cuts create “a perfect storm of budget uncertainty,” Panetta said.

The pre-emptive cuts to operations are immediate but easily reversible if a budget deal is reached before the deadline, according to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley.

“Our nation’s ongoing budget gymnastics exert costly consequences upon the Air Force and our sister services, and create an atmosphere of unease among many of our uniformed and civilian airmen,” Donley said Friday. “We can no longer live under the uncertainty of sequestration and the continuing resolution without taking action now.”

Details of the cuts are being worked out for each base and are expected to be distributed for implementation next week.

Base commanders will be given some leeway to determine the best places to trim, such as flying hours. While a reduction in allowed flying hours will be mandated, commanders can determine which flights are considered essential.

The cuts also include a freeze on travel that’s not essential to a mission.

The measures won’t stop the mandatory cuts if a budget deal isn’t reached in the next 50 days, Donley said, but will “minimize any harmful effects on readiness.”

“There is nothing we can do in the next two months or the rest of this fiscal yearto mitigate the impact of sequestration,” he added. “It is just prudent to adjust the way we spend dollars ...”

Arkansas’ two senators said they were dedicated to working on a budget deal, but agreed that preparing for additional cuts is good planning.

“I would rather see the secretary of defense do this than be unprepared if he has to deal with sequestration,” Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Friday. “It’s wiser to do this than not have any plans in place. The Department of Defense is no different than other federal agencies. We’re all tightening our belts and we should; we have to do more.”

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark. said he understands sequestration cuts are looming, adding that “it is only fair for the Department of Defense to prepare for them.”

“I am urging leadership and working with my colleagues to address this issue as quickly as possible,” he said of the budget trigger.

If the cuts happen, the Air Force will have to reduce operating costs at all active-duty bases by another 20 percent and the Army will need to cut by 30 percent, Panetta said.

All units not training for a pending deployment would have limited training funds as the force shifts all remaining assets to focus on deploying troops.

Pilot training is one area that would be severely affected, Panetta said. The 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base trains all C-130 crews in the nation and 44 allied countries.

“And the fact is ... we have no idea what the hell’s going to happen,” Panetta said. “All told, this uncertainty, if left unresolved by the Congress, will seriously harm our military readiness.”

Rep. Tim Griffin, R -Ark., said the Air Force needs to give Congress a list of programs that aren’t working and can be cut to help resolve the budget rather than trim here and there.

“He’s [Panetta] been weighing in consistently with warnings on the impact,” Griffin said Friday. “I wish they would target the programs that are not working.”

Current Air Force proposals don’t offer specifics or details, which are necessary for good decision-making, Griffin said.

“Capitol Hill has an obligation for oversight to separate the wheat from the chaff, the good ideas from the bad,” he said.

The tug of war between the Pentagon and Congress over past cuts to personnel and structure have added to the current budget impasse.

The Arkansas National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing is part of that fight, with the Air Force wanting to take away the unit’s A-10 close air-support jets and replace them with a mission remotely piloting drones that would cost hundreds of full-time aircraft-maintenance workers their jobs.

Boozman said Friday that sequestration cuts could have been avoided last year if a budget deal was struck.

“The House passed legislation last Congress that would have avoided these cuts, and it is unfortunate that [Senate majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.], did not bring these bills before the Senate for a vote.”

Cutting costs

Immediate spending cuts affecting Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville and other active-duty bases ordered by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta this week:

Reduce flying time by 20 percent.

Freeze travel not mission-essential.

Freeze building maintenance.

Freeze civilian hiring.

Halt equipment purchases.

No new contracts.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/12/2013

Upcoming Events