Posted on 02/10/2012 7:26:15 AM PST by equaviator
Air Force says decision final; loss of squadron includes 600 workers
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller on Thursday vowed to fight the cutbacks planned at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, calling the Pentagon decision to eliminate the base's A-10 aircraft "unfounded, unfair and economically indefensible."
Miller, a Harrison Township Republican, and fellow GOP Rep. Tim Walberg of Tipton met with Air Force Secretary Michael Donley on Tuesday and were told that the cutbacks at Selfridge and at the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base are final. Only a congressional decision to alter President Barack Obama's budget proposal could change that.
The Air Force plan calls for the elimination of the 24 A-10 Thunderbolts at Selfridge — an entire squadron — while adding four KC-135 tanker planes. At Battle Creek, C-27J cargo planes would be reassigned to a new location.
"We emphasized to the secretary that we did not believe forcing these cuts in Michigan represented a true 'shared sacrifice' and that we strongly objected to the proposed National Guard cuts which we believe are not a cost-effective solution to tight budgets," said Miller and Walberg in a joint statement.
Miller vowed to take the fight to Capitol Hill and she again took a shot at Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. The loss of the 107th Fighter Squadron could cost about 600 military jobs at Selfridge, as the expansion from eight KC-135s to 12 may have a minimal employment impact.
"We will not stand for unfounded, unfair and economically indefensible cuts to the Michigan Guard and will fight these cuts in the U.S. House in every way possible. It is our hope the same will be done in the Senate," the Republican lawmakers said.
However, with the Pentagon poised to substantially restructure the entire Department of Defense and cut $500 billion from their budget over 10 years, it's questionable whether any lawmakers will be able to single out one set of cuts as more painful than all others.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hopes to retire 286 aircraft over the next five years, including 227 in fiscal year 2013.
According to Michigan National Guard officials, the Air Force plans to reduce 50-plus types of aircraft in its inventory from 2014-17.
Miller, the wife of former Selfridge base commander Don Miller, said Michigan stands to lose more Air National Guard jobs than any other state. Levin, meanwhile, has not commented since he announced on Friday the tradeoff of aircraft by the Air Force at Selfridge.
The A-10 Thunderbolt is a low-flying plane that provides combat bombardments that aid troops and tanks on the ground. But the military brass hope to replace the A-10 with the upcoming F-35, a plane that's adept at mid-air combat but can also deliver bombs to help ground troops from a relatively high altitude.
While the A-10 "tank killer" is extremely effective at providing close-air support, the Air Force needs aircraft that can do more than one mission, Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Jan. 26 in an interview with the Military Times.
"Is the F-35 going to be as good a close-air support platform as an A-10? I don't think anybody believes that," the admiral said. "But is the A-10 going to be the air-to-air platform that the F-35 is going to be?
"So again, the Air Force is trying to get as much multi-mission capability into the limited number of platforms it's going to have. It … could be that those who think there's never going to be an air-to-air engagement ever again in the history of the world could be wrong," Winnefeld told the Military Times reporters and editors.
"It could be those who believe that the close-air support role of the A-10 is absolutely paramount could be wrong as well."
one of the scenarios where the US is the takeover target has tanks rolling down from canada and up from mexico.
A-10s are an effective counter to such an event
so much for that
/johnny
The A-10’s are probably to visually intimidating to the local Muzzie population.
I would hope that Gov. Snyder supports Rep. Miller since he is Commander-in-Chief of the Michigan National Guard.
Time to send the A-10s to the Army.
Along with all the drones.
That was almost a done deal in 1990. The Army was getting approval to operate a fix wing aircraft of the A-10’s operating weight and the planned transfer to the Army and something called Desert Storm happened. The Air Force found out how lethal the A-10 was against the Iraqi tanks and armor. After the war they kept them.
I think we need to keep them.
The Governor will probably support the decision to keep them, but the state only pays 1/2 the bill for the Guard, Uncle Sam picks up the bulk of the tab. Unless the Congress can find the money to keep this mission, it looks like Michigan takes another one to the gut.
Americans don’t recognize the strategic importance of our northern border and specifically Michigan because we have a friendly neighbor next door.
Canada may be a friend who can watch our back, but they can’t really protect it. In fact I suspect Canada recognizes the security implications of our military near the border.
The Air Force has wanted to get rid of this rugged war horse since it was first conceived. bas[censored]s
It is the greatest ground attack aircraft ever created, and they jerks hate it.
Why doesn’t the Marine Corp or Army take them over?
I think a compromise is in order. Send half to where they’re wanted and keep the rest just in case the islamderthal horde in Detroit gets uppity and needs a reminder of where they are.
The Air Force is full of crap. They hate the CAS role with a passion. The notion that they will use the F-35 for CAS is hilarious. The A-10 has no fixed wing equal in the battle space, and the pilots who fly these aircraft are damn good at what they do. I agree with a previous poster who said we should give the A-10 to the Marine Corps. We know what to do with it. For some reason the Air Force has forgotten that their main reason for existance is to support the grunts on the ground. All their other missions should be secondary to that.
My instincts tell me that Democrats would do this to also discontinue the military aviation tradition at Selfridge Field (1917), Selfridge AFB (1947) and Selfridge ANGB (1971 to present). I think they seek cultural change by dumbing down or bringing about the absence of regional military air power wherever they can.
We don’t even have a military presence in the UP any more do we?
In truth the only reason the they want them to stay is the jobs it brings into the area
Everyone wants the budget cut well that means the military needs to find places to cut. Some of those will cut local jobs.
I say this as a USAF retire
I’m not sure but I think the last UP base to close was KI Sawyer AFB (B-52’s) back in the early or mid-’90’s.
We’ve seen Michigan’s rich aviation heritage diminished little by little. I don’t believe the regime has time enough to actually shut Selfridge down but they seem hell-bent on trying.
As long as SANGB is active there will be jobs there for civilians. IF they shut it down, the Michigan National Guard will be much less capable and the legacy of Michigan’s military aviation history will become nothing more than exhibit artifacts in the handful of air museums throughout the state.
I’m not sure but I think the last UP base to close was KI Sawyer AFB (B-52’s) back in the early or mid-’90’s.
We’ve seen Michigan’s rich aviation heritage diminished little by little. I don’t believe the regime has time enough to actually shut Selfridge down but they seem hell-bent on trying.
As long as SANGB is active there will be jobs for civilians. IF they shut it down, the Michigan National Guard will be much less capable and the legacy of Michigan’s military aviation history will become nothing more than exhibit artifacts in the handful of air museums throughout the state.
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