casey Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Air Force Reserve leaders are drawing a clear line between planes and personnel in response to local outrage over the impending inactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing. A spokesman for the three-star command headquartered at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, said officials were taking "no actions prohibited by law" as they met with airmen at Fort Bragg's Pope Field on Friday.A team from Air Force Reserve Command will help open a clearing house for most of the 440th's 1,200 airmen, said spokesman Col. Robert Palmer.Palmer said the clearing house is not a nefarious plot to shutter the unit, but an effort to help airmen find new jobs."This is a way to try to take care of reservists assigned to the unit," he said.He said leaders also took objection to assertions the clearing house was in opposition to a congressional mandate made as part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. Language in the act prevents the Air Force from moving C-130 cargo plans until 60 days after a report is made to Congress.Local congressmen have said they believed that language delayed the inactivation of the 440th.Sen. Thom Tillis said in a letter to military leaders that he believes the moves the Air Force Reserve is taking undermines the spirit of the congressional requirement.But Palmer said lawyers have determined the language only prevents the movement of the planes, not force structure changes.He said the Air Force plans to shutter the 440th Airlift Wing, first announced last March, have remained in place.The Air Force Reserve extended funding through half the fiscal year to help the 440th close, Palmer said. With that money running out at the end of next month, steps are being taken to help airmen find new units or decide the next step in their military careers."Only in Washington would bureaucrats believe that C-130s can fly themselves without pilots and maintainers," said Daniel Keylin, communications director for Tillis.Palmer said the inactivation of the 440th is one of several force structure changes being taken. But the 440th is by far the largest unit to be closed under the 2014 plans.Members of the 440th have been skeptical of Air Force plans, and critics have called the clearing house an attempt to gut the 440th, making it operationally obsolete and ripe for inactivation.Palmer acknowledged the loss of personnel would eventually prevent the 440th from maintaining its aircraft or fulfilling its mission.When asked what would happen if Congress bars the relocation of planes from Fort Bragg, he said he did not have a clear answer."That's a good question," Palmer said. "Obviously, there's a collision course here."After news of the clearing house spread, congressional leaders and the head of a local group dedicated to saving the 440th expressed concern and, in some cases, outrage over the move.Tillis said in a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Debra Lee James that the news was distressing, given new Defense Secretary Ash Carter's recent public commitment to meet with local leaders to discuss the closure of the unit.Tillis also questioned the Air Force's overall force structure plans, saying other units do not have the day-to-day tactical mission that is unique to the 440th and that inactivating the unit would create unreasonable risks to readiness at a time when threats abroad appear to be growing.Air Force leaders have said they planned on filling the void created by the 440th inactivation by flying in crews from other installations.An inactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing would leave no permanent Air Force planes on Fort Bragg, which is the nation's largest installation and home to most of the Army's airborne and special operations forces.Palmer said the shuttering of the 440th is part of the Air Force's approved manpower authorization and budget appropriation, no matter the findings of the yet-released report."We're moving forward with what we said we would do," he said.Palmer said leaders were not blind to the effects of the decision. The clearing house is part of a larger effort to make the transition as smooth as possible, he said."We do recognize how serious and how much this impacts our reservists at Pope," Palmer said.Unit leaders have said the clearing house isn't mandatory, but urged airmen to participate, calling it the "best option" for airmen in the unit.It's the latest step in a process that began last year, when unit officials who thought they were set to receive newer model cargo planes after years of waiting and millions of dollars in upgrades to facilities instead learned the Air Force planned to inactivate the 440th.At the time, the unit had about 1,400 airmen and provided $77 million in local economic impact.View original article: http://www.fayobserver.com/military/...=image&photo=0 View full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olcatmech2 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 maybe when the ragheads and obummers idiots finish taking over we will understand why sh.. floats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdaley Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 If they do that what happens to 2 AS?Did they ever do anything about 815AS/345AS at Keesler?Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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