LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — National Guard leaders say Arkansas' 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith is one of five Air National Guard wings under consideration for cuts to make up federal budget shortfalls.
Maj. Gen. Bill Wofford, Arkansas' adjutant general, told the 188th's 350 airmen Tuesday about the threat of potential cuts.
"With (the Department of Defense) facing its greatest cuts since World War II, the future of the 188th - one of five A-10 units in the National Guard - has been the subject of multiple conversations," said Maj. Chris Heathscott, spokesman for the Arkansas National Guard in a written statement Tuesday evening.
Wofford said he learned about the potential of the 188th being cut during a recent visit with Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard at the National Guard Bureau in Alexandria, Va.
"...the 188th could potentially be under consideration. What we've been told is that anything and everything is on the table. At this point we don't know what the cuts are going to be in the (Department of Defense) budget," Wofford said in a written statement.
The Arkansas Air National Guard's other flying wing, the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, however, is not on the chopping block.
This is not the first time the 188th has faced the threat of cuts. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that the 188th be stripped of its flying mission. At the time, the 188th flew aging F-16 fighter jets. After an organized public outcry, the commission decided to move forward with retiring the wing's F-16s but replaced them with A-10 Warthog close-air-support jets.
"With (the Department of Defense) facing its greatest cuts since World War II, the future of the 188th - one of five A-10 units in the National Guard - has been the subject of multiple conversations," said Maj. Chris Heathscott, spokesman for the Arkansas National Guard in a written statement Tuesday evening.
The 188th received its first A-10s about three years ago and deployed to Afghanistan last year where the jets flew more than 2,800 hours of combat missions supporting ground troops. Two months ago the 188th received an alert order that it would be heading back to Afghanistan next year.
"Nobody knows what's going to happen yet," Wofford said. "But whatever happens is not going to occur until after the unit's upcoming deployment."
The Department of Defense was already facing $450 billion in budget cuts before the congressional supercommittee this week failed to make a decision on a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction plan. If Congress takes no further action, automatic across-the-board cuts called "sequestration" will begin in 2013. Those cuts will be made in a 50-50 split between the defense budget and all other spending with the exception of Social Security and Medicaid, potentially doubling the current cuts facing the Defense Department.
Wofford said the earliest anyone can expect to know whether the 188th will be cut is February, when the president's budget is released.
"We've got to show that the Fort Smith unit is the most cost-effective A-10 unit in the Air Force," Wofford said in the statement, adding that the wing's proximity to Fort Chaffee and its firing ranges make a good argument for keeping a flying unit there.
And if the 188th is stripped of its planes, Wofford said the F-35 Lightning II fighter, which is still in development, is a "possible option for the future" of the unit. The F-35 has been mired in its own budget battle as it has become the most expensive defense program to date with a cost of more than $200 million each.
"We can't wait till February to tell our story and make the case," he said in his statement. "We've got to work now."
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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