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thedrifter
05-11-07, 10:44 AM
Fighter jets of future on northern course
Air Force will shrink elsewhere, grow in Alaska, leader says

By DON HUNTER
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: May 11, 2007)

The demand for soldiers and Marines to lead the ground engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan and the need to modernize its fleet of war planes may mean a smaller U.S. Air Force in the future, but Alaska's military installations probably will maintain their complement and could even grow, the secretary of the Air Force said here Thursday.

Secretary Michael W. Wynne said Alaska's strategic location and vast air space make it an excellent training ground for a new generation of fighter jets, including the F-22 Raptors arriving at Elmendorf Air Force Base this summer and the new F-35 fighters that eventually will replace F-16s.

"We are really recognizing now that Alaska air space is just the right kind of air space to test our high-performance fighters," Wynne said in an interview at the Anchorage air base.

The financial costs of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have translated to budget pressures on both the Air Force and the Navy, Wynne said.

"And in fact, what the Congress has sort of told us over the course of the last couple of years is, you're either going to get smaller and pay your way for your recapitalization, or your equipment is just going to continue to get older."

Wynne said he is in Alaska this week to talk to airmen at Elmendorf and Eielson air bases, and for today's change of command at Elmendorf. Col. Thomas L. Tinsley, who Wynne said is soon to be a brigadier general, assumes command of the 3rd Wing from Brig. Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle.

When he became secretary in 2005 and recognized the budget pressures, Wynne said, he pulled together a management team and told them today's airmen have to find ways to do more with less.

"And to do that, we are going to have higher reliability, more capable aircraft ... more capable satellites, and we are just going to have to posture ourselves for success," he said.

"That does mean a smaller Air Force," Wynne said. "It does not have to mean a smaller force structure here in Alaska." And given the Army's responsibilities, the overall military presence in Alaska could grow, he said.

The war in Iraq and Afghanistan also places other pressures on Air Force personnel. Many are being called upon to fill jobs on the ground more often done by soldiers or Marines -- dealing with roadside bombs, providing security, guarding detainees. Wynne said the Air Force personnel stepping in are doing a good job -- "I know this because when I give them to my Army brethren, they don't want to give them back."

But drawing too heavily on Air Force people for non-Air Force responsibilities can also be a problem, he said.

"You want the (Air Force) munitions person to be loading a 500-pound bomb" in a war plane, he said. "You actually don't want that munitions person just holding a gun in a city, and not get the 500-pound bomb when you need it."

Daily News reporter Don Hunter can be reached at dhunter@adn.com.

Ellie