NGAUS Applauds New Congressional, Gubernatorial Opposition to Air Force Plane Grab
WASHINGTON, April 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 45,000 National Guard officers today applauded an increasing list of elected officials voicing opposition to an Air Force plan to take C-130 cargo aircraft from the Air Guard to replace aging active-component aircraft.
In a letter today to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, the heads of the National Governors Association, along with the co-chairs of the association's homeland security committee and the co-lead governors on Guard matters, called the proposal "troubling."
"The proposed transfer of C-130 aircraft would significantly reduce the capabilities of the affected states and place great strain on neighboring Air National Guard units," wrote Govs. James H. Douglas, R-Vt., Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., Martin O'Malley, D-Md., Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., Beverly Perdue, D-N.C., and Mark Sanford, R-S.C.
Meanwhile, in a letter today to Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley, U.S. Reps. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., and Steve Buyer, R-Ind., co-chairs of the 230-member House National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, termed the plan "disturbing."
"It might be better use of limited funds and C-130s to truly embrace the Total Force concept and expand the associate wing program combining active, Guard and Reserve units and personnel at one facility," they wrote.
The correspondence comes on the heels of an April 9 letter to Donley from 23 House members and a March 24 letter to him from the Senate National Guard Caucus.
"The letters make clear that Capitol Hill and the nation's governors believe Guard missions, cost-effectiveness and experience were never considered in this plan," said retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, NGAUS president. "It is just not the way the greatest Air Force in the world should do business."
The Air Force scheme, which is included in the president's 2011 budget proposal, would shift 11 C-130 Hercules cargo planes from Air Guard bases nationwide to replace older active-component models at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
It also would eliminate the only flying unit in the Puerto Rico Air Guard. In all, 21 Air Guard C-130s would be affected.
Documents shared with lawmakers last month indicate that the aircraft would come from Air Guard units in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
Air Force leaders say part of the reasoning for the plan is that the Air Guard is not always "accessible" for missions.
Guard leaders say the charge is a myth.
"I'm still waiting to hear the first example of the Air Guard not showing up when called," Hargett said.
About NGAUS: The association includes nearly 45,000 current or former Guard officers. It was created in 1878 to provide unified National Guard representation in Washington. In their first productive meeting after Reconstruction, militia officers from the North and South formed the association with the goal of obtaining better equipment and training by petitioning Congress for more resources. Today, 132 years later, NGAUS has the same mission.
Internet Availability: This document and other Guard and NGAUS news and information are available at www.ngaus.org.
SOURCE National Guard Association of the U.S.
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