Wing's BRAC changes will occur early

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Many of the changes mandated by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission for the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home AFB last year will be happening much faster than expected, with one off the most important moves taking place between now and next spring, rather than 2009.

The drawdown of F-16CJs assigned to the 389th Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base is scheduled to begin next month and expected to be finished by March 31 of next year. The F-16s are slated to go to the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Air National Guard Base, S.C., and the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

That move is being made in order to make room for an additional F-15E squadron that will be coming from Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. The first of the wing's new F-15E aircrews from Elmendorf are slated to begin arriving in mid-December of this year with the transfer currently scheduled to end by June 30, 2007.

The wing is currently awaiting word from Headquarters Air Combat Command on when the wing will transfer its F-16 maintenance equipment. The wing's F-16 flight simulator equipment could leave Mountain Home AFB as early as April 2007.

Renovations on Hangar 1363 started in September 2006, and the base is currently working out the details to renovate additional operations facilities and hangars related to the F-15E beddown.

Under the original proposed changes called for by last year's Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), Mountain Home AFB would have received an additional squadron of F-15E aircraft in 2009, and then lose two squadrons, the F-16CJ and F-15C units, in 2011.

But while the last round of base realignments and closures approved by Congress and the president last fall mandates all the moves be completed by 2011, the Air Force has some leeway in when to make the changes.

The net result of the complete plan, if no additional changes are made, will be a final loss, by 2011, of between 528 and 569 military jobs on base, plus about 31 civilian jobs on base.

But in the short term, the accelerated schedule of moves will result in an increase of about 270 military personnel on base by the end of spring next year. The overall drop in personnel will not occur until the F-15Cs go away, and right now, that move is still on track for 2011, although that date may also be modified in the future.

The increase in personnel at the base, despite the loss of the F-16 squadron, is largely due to the fact that the F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-seat aircraft, rather than the single-seat F-16, and typically requires slightly more maintainers per plane than the F-16.

The early move of the squadrons has been caused by the desire of officials at Elmendorf AFB to get rid of their F-15Es as soon as possible. That base is next in line to receive the next squadron of F-22 Raptors and the Alaskan base wants to clear its flightline for those planes, which will be arriving soon.

Under the BRAC plan, eventually Mountain Home AFB will be down one full squadron by 2011. But most local observers have believed that the eventual loss of a full squadron of aircraft would be made up somehow by the Air Force before that date.

In language almost unique among its recommendations, the 2005 BRAC panel noted that "Mountain Home Air Force Base is well suited for various types of flight training. It also has the capacity and infrastructure available to receive future (additional) missions."

Combined with its extensive training range capabilities, Mountain Home AFB is seen by the Air Force as a facility it will not under use.

Negotiations are underway, for example, to permanently base an F-15 training squadron from a foreign nation at Mountain Home. That move could be made as quickly as some time early in the first half of next year, and initial indications are it will involve an air force unit from a southeast Asian nation.

The Air Force has similar arrangements with other nations at some of its bases. For example, Holloman AFB has a permanent training squadron of the German Luftwaffe assigned there.

Mountain Home AFB has been host to a number of temporary training operations for foreign air forces in recent years, including the Israeli Defense Force air force. But unlike those temporary operations, usually lasting only a month or so, the proposed squadron from the southeast Asian nation would have a permanent roster of crews and maintainers assigned here.

It's not known how many additional personnel or aircraft would be added to the base's order of battle if those negotiations are fruitful.

An Environmental Assessment notice regarding that move is expected to be released for public comment within the next month.

Eventually, the 366th Fighter Wing is expected to be flying only F-15E aircraft, under the current plans.

However, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission noted in its report last September that the Air Force had indicated a possibility and desire to station one of its first F-35 squadrons at Mountain Home AFB, as a possible means of making up for the eventual loss of one full squadron on base. The F-35, however, the anticipated replacement to the single-engine F-16, has been tied up in congressional budget battles and production funding for the new plane has not been approved by Congress so far.

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