FORT SMITH — Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh confirmed Friday that the Arkansas National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing will trade its A-10 jets for two drone missions — one flying and another performing target analysis.
The decision is etched in legislation and driven by budget cuts mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act. The move will soon take the A-10 Warthog close air-support jets and other older aircraft completely out of the Air Force inventory, Welsh said.
The 188th’s transition timeline is dependent on Congress passing defense appropriations as part of the hotly contested 2013 budget. The Defense Authorization Act calls for the transition to happen this year, but funding must first be secured for retirement of the planes and installing new technology for the remote pilot mission.
The new mission requires extensive satellite and computer technology to allow pilots to fly drones in other parts of the world from terminals at the Fort Smith National Guard base.
“The [remote piloted aircraft] mission is a great mission for our armed forces. It’s a growing mission, a mission area that we’re deeply immersed in. We’re committed to it for the future,” Welsh said Friday after visiting the 188th.
The idea of flying drones from the ground has been met with strong opposition from the 188th, the Fort Smith community and Arkansas’ congressional delegation. But Welsh said it’s a mission that has increasingly become a part of the “fabric” of the Air Force.
Welsh visited Arkansas at the insistence of the congressional delegation, which has collectively argued that A-10 Warthogs should stay in Fort Smith.
After Welsh left, delegation members said they would continue to work to find a sustainable flying mission for the 188th.
“It’s one thing to see it on paper,” U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said of Welsh’s visit. “It’s another thing to see it in person.”
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said, “We have put our heads and souls into saving this flying mission.”
“This has not been a fair fight from the very beginning,” added U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., relating to the lack of transparency early on in the Air Force’s decision.
The community rallied Friday, with hundreds of people lining the intersection by the 188th’s gate with signs like: “We’ll fight till pigs fly” and “Keep a wrench in my daddy’s hand.”
Changing missions means changing or losing jobs for the bulk of the 188th’s full-time force — aircraft maintainers. Drones won’t be stationed at the Fort Smith base but will be piloted from it, and potential targets will be analyzed there.
The number of full-time positions and staffing details of the new mission are not yet known.
“I don’t know if it’s helping,” said Tony Worden, a former member of the 188th security forces. “But I hope. Gosh, I hope.”
Over the next four hours, Welsh explained to the 188th, the congressional delegation and the media that the transition to drones was moving forward.
Malani Holguin, 7, was late to school Friday so she could hold her sign for Welsh to see: “Save my Daddy’s job.”
Asked if she knew what this was all about, she said with an understanding beyond her years: “We’re trying to save the planes. We’re trying to save the jobs.”
A few steps away, John Parnell, 14, said, “We’re pretty worried.”
His dad, Master Sgt. Jeff Parnell, is a full-time maintainer in the sheet-metal shop. His specialty would not be needed in the new configuration. He is five years from being eligible to retire.
“This is our life,” Darla Parnell said of her husband’s service with the 188th. “It would be very hard if he lost his job. We pray. That’s our foundation.”
Welsh said he “completely understands” the concern and stress that comes with change. But, he said, the overall size of the Air National Guard will increase with the transition at Fort Smith and changes at Little Rock Air Force Base. Opportunities will still be there, he said.
“The intent is not for the unit to go away,” he said. “The strength of the 188th is not the hardware on the ramp, it’s the people who make it work. They transition to a new mission, they keep doing great stuff.”
There are still many unknowns about the staffing for the new mission and what will happen to full-time maintainers who are close to retirement, like Master Sgt. Parnell.
“This has got to be a disappointment,” said Maj. Gen. Bill Wofford, Arkansas’ adjutant general. “But in the big scheme of things, we have to look at it as a win. And this is a win. We either lose A-10s now and transition to a new mission with longevity or lose them later [without a promised replacement mission].”
He added that now is the time to look at the specialties and personnel in the 188th and match those to the needs of the new mission to identify workers in operations, maintenance and weapons who could be retrained.
“It’s going to be a major personnel transition,” Wofford said. “We need to plan for that transition, find places for our airmen. And five years from now, the 188th will be a very strong unit. It just won’t be flying A-10s.”
The Air Force placed the A-10 Warthog close air support jets that the 188th currently flies on death row. The entire fleet will be retired over the next few years as part of overall cost-cutting measures focused on investment in a new generation of more versatile fighter jets. The A-10 is a one-hit wonder, with limited capabilities beyond close air support.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 required a $487 billion reduction in defense spending.
“The Air Force has to pay a portion of that bill, and to do that we have to get smaller,” Welsh said, calling it the reality of the current fiscal environment. “We have to divest force structure.”
Welsh said drone missions are a critical area for the Air Force, adding that more drone pilots are now being trained than airplane pilots.
“There’s nobody who likes the idea of disadvantaging anybody or putting anybody in a corner,” he said. “But the fact is, we’re changing. The Air Force is changing, the Department of Defense is changing. And we’re driven by a resource environment that is not going to let up the pressure. So we have to try manage it as best we can.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/19/2013