TERRE HAUTE — The Air National Guard is taking the lion’s share of planned cuts announced last week by the U.S. Air Force. But no cuts are currently expected at Terre Haute’s 181st Intelligence Wing. In fact, the nation’s evolving defense strategy may spell growth at the local base.
On Friday, the Air Force released plans to cut about 5,100 Air National Guard personnel in the next year. The cuts would help the Air Force meet its $50-billion share of the cuts required by the Budget Control Act, which calls for $487 billion in defense cuts over the next 10 years.
Overall, the Air Force is planning to reduce its personnel by about 10,000 next year. It also would retire about 286 aircraft.
But fighter aircraft have not been assigned to the 181st since 2007. In fact, the base’s new intelligence-gathering mission would seem to position it well to benefit from President Obama’s goal of creating a smaller, more agile U.S. military with an emphasis on special operations.
“What they are proposing within the intelligence community is just an expansion of what we’re already doing,” said Col. Don Bonte, wing commander of the 181st.
“I don’t anticipate any reductions in personnel or equipment or anything here at the 181st,” Bonte said. “But I do see our mission getting bigger as a result of using some of the unmanned reconnaissance platforms to meet this nation’s defense needs…I can see the 181st getting bigger, not smaller.”
In northeastern Indiana, the 122nd Fighter Wing is a little less optimistic in the wake of the proposed change in the nation’s defense posture. The proposed Air Force budget calls for retiring the base’s A-10 Warthog jets and bringing in the MC-12, an intelligence-gathering aircraft.
“There is certainly concern among our members that if this decision is not reversed that it will end a legacy of historic and proud service flying fighter aircraft here at the 122nd Fighter Wing,” said Col. David L. Augustine, the 122nd Fighter Wing Commander. The 122nd is based in Fort Wayne.
Members of the 181st can relate to how folks at the 122nd are feeling.
“Our hearts go out to them because we went through the same thing,” Bonte said, adding that losing the F-16 fighters from the 181st was a big blow. “Yeah, it hurt,” he said.
But now the 181st has a new mission of intelligence support for U.S. forces in places such as Afghanistan, saving the lives of U.S. troops from thousands of miles away, Bonte said.
“The new mission we have is a great mission to have and we absolutely love it and we’ve gotten very good at it,” Bonte said.
The Air Force’s proposed budget is still just a proposal. It has not been passed by Congress and is facing stiff lobbying opposition from the National Guard Association of the United States, which represents the National Guard and its retirees. NGAUS believes the proposed cuts fall too heavily on members of the Air National Guard.
“What you do when you cut a Guard unit, you’re basically pushing some of the most experienced pilots and some of the most experienced maintainers out the door,” said John Goheen, spokesman for NGAUS in Washington. Air Guard units cost taxpayers about a quarter of what active-duty Air Force personnel cost, he said.
Bonte agrees the Air National Guard offers the “best bang for the buck” for taxpayers. Some of the airmen under his command have more years of experience than some active duty airmen have years on earth, he said.
Still, budget cuts are inevitable, Bonte said.
“It’s all about expanding efficiencies within the Department of Defense,” Bonte said. “This country’s biggest challenge…is our debt. That’s our biggest enemy right now.”