Committee backing 188th opposes Obama veto plan

— A committee supporting the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing came out in opposition to a plan by President Barack Obama to veto a Senate bill that would limit money used to retire Air Force aircraft, including those of the 188th.

A news release Friday from the city of Fort Smith stated that the 188th Fighter Wing Steering Committee and the Arkansas congressional delegation were confident a bipartisan panel empowered in a Senate defense authorization bill would “remove politics from the Air Force recommendation to remove A-10s from the 188th Fighter Wing.”

A community council supporting the wing and Fort Chaffee have campaignedfor the government to retain the wing’s mission of 20 A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes based at the Fort Smith Regional Airport, claiming the 188th is one of the top fighter wings in the nation.

In doing so, the news release stated, the council opposes the Statement of Administration Policy released by the White House on Thursday. In the statement, the president objected to the proposed limitation of the funds that would be used to retire the 188th’s attack planes and the creation of a commission to study the composition of the Air Force.

The president’s statement said retaining excess aircraft is not affordable in an “austere budget” and the Defense Department could not afford to keep a large number of under-used aircraft, which would “contribute to a hollow force.”

According to the news release, community council President Jerry Stewart said the bipartisan commission would perform the plan on how the Air Force should be structured. The Air Force has provided no proof that cutting Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve aircraft would save money, he said in the release.

A statement in the news release from former 188th commander, retired Col. Kevin Wear, chairman of the steering committee, said an honest evaluation of its airspace, ranges, joint operations, cost and effectiveness would show that Fort Smith is one of best places to station the A-10s.

Under the Air Force plan, the 188th would lose its A-10 mission and would be assigned to operate unmanned drones that would be stationed elsewhere.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 12/01/2012

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