Wright-Patterson annually deploys about 1,000 personnel worldwide to war zones or support locations, as well as on humanitarian missions to Honduras and other locations. But those deployments are smaller groups spread out over time in contrast with some other U.S. bases that are launching pads for larger, steady streams of fresh troops for the fight.
The Aeronautical Systems Center has been acquiring and providing unmanned planes, including Reapers, Predators and Global Hawks to Afghanistan and previously, the Iraq theater in response to the Pentagon’s call for more intelligence-gathering and pinpoint air strike capabilities to support ground forces.
The Air Force Research Laboratory has responded to pleas from battlefield commanders for improvements that can help combat search and rescue specialists and the joint terminal attack controllers who work with U.S. aircraft to direct strikes on enemy targets. AFRL personnel at Wright-Patterson have helped develop and test lighter, longer-lasting batteries and more sophisticated night-vision technology.
The Air Force Reserve’s 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson continues to serve as the base’s flying mission, transporting cargo abroad in support of international American military operations.
The destinations have ranged from Germany and England to Australia, supporting movements of airmen and equipment. The Air Force details the needs and destinations, counting on the 445th Airlift Wing and similar units across the system to respond.
The 445th’s conversion during the last year to C-17 transport aircraft, replacing the older C-5 Galaxy planes, restores the capability to move patients with medical support. As of late, those medical transport missions have focused on the continental United States, said Lt. Col. Cynthia Harris, a spokeswoman for the 445th.
Her unit projects that it will fly a total of 5,000 hours during the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, compared with about 3,400 hours this year. The 445th’s pilots have focused lately on training flights in the C-17s as the aviators adjust from the larger C-5s.
But an upcoming decade of cuts in military spending will have an effect on Wright-Patterson, as well as other operations across the Defense Department.
The Obama administration is already planning for $487 billion in cuts over the next decade. There could be an additional $500 billion in reductions, which the Pentagon has said would take a serious toll on defensive and offensive capabilities unless Congress reverses those automatic, deficit-reducing cuts.
Wright-Patterson is projected to lose 452 positions among active-duty and civilian ranks this year and next, part of a cost-cutting reduction of about 10,000 positions across the Air Force. That will include 290 civilian and 162 active-duty military positions, among them a previously announced net loss of 235 civilian jobs at Wright-Patterson.
But the base’s overall importance to the Air Force as a hub of procurement, logistics, intelligence assessment, training and research and development should protect the bulk of Wright-Patterson’s operations and employment for years to come, defense industry analysts have said. The base’s work force of approximately 27,000, making it Ohio’s largest single-site employer, and its $5 billion annual financial impact on the region make it an essential ingredient of the Dayton region’s economy.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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