Commander's commentary: Fiscal restraints take tighter hold on wing

by Brig. Gen. Eric S. Overturf
442nd Fighter Wing commander

2/6/2013 - WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- In the post-holiday, pre-tax season money is always a major concern. For most of us, it becomes an even greater concern when rumors are flying through the news about budget cuts, sequestration and civilian furloughs. Here at the military unit level, we've been on a financial roller coaster over the last few years as a result of the multiple continuing resolutions that have replaced the annual budget we're supposed to get at the beginning of each fiscal year. We've had to reschedule one of our drill weekends until after the current continuing resolution expires on March 27, and we will be watching the news over the next few weeks to see how our elected officials handle the impending sequestration cuts scheduled to take effect on March 1 under the Budget Control Act.

Unfortunately, I don't have any "insider" information beyond what you can get from media and military websites, but I want you to know that I'm working with our wing and Reserve command leadership to make sure we have the most up-to-date and accurate data.

Here's a brief summary of where we are right now:

1. The 917th Fighter Group, a geographically separated unit of the 442nd Fighter Wing located at Barksdale AFB, La., will be formally closed this fiscal year, meaning that all 24 jets and the majority of the roughly 550 manpower positions with the exception of the A-10 engine repair shop will be gone by Sept. 30. We are working with the leadership at Barksdale, 10th Air Force and Air Force Reserve Command to expedite a SATAF (site activation task force) to maximize the programs that will help our people through this transition, both on the civilian and military sides.

2. A Reserve A-10 unit will stand up at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. in Fiscal Year '14. This unit will join forces with our former GSU, the 924th Fighter Group, and will provide a potential home for some of the personnel and assets lost by Barksdale. It is not clear yet if the unit will stand up as a group or a wing or who will be in command of the unit, but we are working closely with 10th AF and AFRC to support the SATAF that will stand up this new unit.

3. The 442nd FW at Whiteman will get four A-10s (3 primary and 1 attrition) and add some manpower positions. We received the manning document for these new positions last week and are sorting through it now to make sure we have the right full-time and part-time positions to support these new aircraft.

4. The Air Force instituted a civilian hiring freeze (including air reserve technicians) for all external hires, meaning that we can only hire people who are already in the civil service system unless we have a waiver. We were also directed to cancel nonmission critical temporary duty assignments and reduce other discretionary spending, but that was not a big change for us since we had already implemented most of those actions back in November 2012.

5. This week the Under Secretary of the Air Force put out a memo outlining potential actions the Air Force will take if the automatic spending cuts triggered by sequestration take effect on March 1, which include approximately $550 billion in Department of Defense cuts. These actions include reducing spending across the board to include cutting flying hours, canceling exercises, and implementing civilian furloughs of up to 22 days between now and Sept. 30. You can read the full text of this memo that covers other potential readiness impacts here.

The civilian furloughs are of particularly high interest to us in the 442nd FW, because they include the ARTs that make up the majority of our full-time force. I know furlough rumors are flying around, but at this point we don't know if furloughs will happen, or how much latitude we will have at the unit level to determine how they will be implemented if they do happen. What I can tell you is that we will work with the headquarters staff and the local civil service and union leadership to build a plan that is best for our mission and people, and you'll know what the plan is before any furlough actions take place.

I had a teleconference with all the other 10th Air Force commanders yesterday, and we are all sharing ideas on how to best implement furloughs if they happen. My initial thoughts are that furloughs should be taken one day per week as opposed to all at once, that we will not do more with less, and that we will seek the ability to put people on military status (if funds are available) during furloughs. Most importantly, I want you to know I am determined to take care of our people in any way our budget will allow, and I know that taking care of this wing and its mission will be my replacement's top priority as well. Please send your concerns and ideas up the chain -- I am always amazed by the great ideas and suggestions I get when I walk around and talk to you, the great Americans that make up the 442nd Fighter Wing.

These have been the most challenging financial times I've seen in my military career, but also the most rewarding because of the way you have overcome this financial turmoil and stepped up to get the mission done, from air expeditionary force deployments to inspections to force structure changes. Our finance office and leadership and individual reservists throughout the wing have worked tirelessly with decreasing budgets to continue providing mission support.

In the midst of all this turbulence, you have continued to protect our nation while transforming the 442nd into the model fighter wing for total-force combat power. These are difficult times, but we can and will get through them by working together. Thanks for all you do and for making this the best job in the Air Force, even in the tough times. It's an honor to be your commander.

Source (No photo included)

Highlighted by Warthog News:
2. A Reserve A-10 unit will stand up at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. in Fiscal Year '14. This unit will join forces with our former GSU, the 924th Fighter Group, and will provide a potential home for some of the personnel and assets lost by Barksdale. It is not clear yet if the unit will stand up as a group or a wing or who will be in command of the unit, but we are working closely with 10th AF and AFRC to support the SATAF that will stand up this new unit.

Comment by Warthog News:
A Reserve A-10C unit will stand up at D-M in Fiscal Year '14? That sounds very interesting.