Fighting to keep Fresno's fighters
Lawmakers want to ensure the 144th Fighter Wing gets
the warplanes necessary to avoid closure.
By Michael Doyle / Bee Washington Bureau
(Thursday, February 16, 2006)
WASHINGTON — California military officers on Wednesday revved up efforts to
secure a long-term future for Fresno-based fighter planes.
The threat is over the horizon. The campaign could take
years. And the defense is partly political, as the officers join with lawmakers
in championing the cause of Fresno's 144th Fighter Wing.
"It's absolutely key to our homeland defense," Maj. Gen. William Wade II,
adjutant general of the California National Guard, told congressional staffers
Wednesday.
Wade was speaking to allies, both in the
morning briefing for California congressional delegation legislative assistants
and in an afternoon meeting in the office of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia.
In truth, Nunes and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, needed no
convincing that the Fresno fighter wing deserves a future shipment of F-15C
warplanes.
"We all want them to stay for parochial
interests," Nunes said, "but there's a bigger issue. If the Guard unit leaves
Fresno, our air protection comes from Montana."
Under
current Pentagon base-closing plans approved by Congress, the F-15C planes
sought by Fresno are now headed for Great Falls, Mont.
That's more than just a long distance. It also means political competition,
albeit cast in terms of military necessity.
"We've tried
not to make this into a fight between California and Montana," said Lt. Col.
Clay Garrison, an F-16 pilot and chief of training for the Fresno fighter wing,
"although it can turn out that way."
Garrison was part of
the 144th leadership contingent making the Washington rounds this week.
Getting the more advanced, twin-engine F-15s could ensure the
144th Fighter Wing would stay in business after the current F-16s are phased out
in 2012. Both warplanes are lethal, but in different ways.
|
Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers of Fresno Air National Guard
replaces panels of the tail section
of an F-16C Falcon in the
maintenance hangar Wednesday. The
F-15s, which California lawmakers
are trying to secure for the Fresno
base, are faster and can fly higher,
but cost $29.9 million.
John Walker /
The Fresno Bee |
The F-15C can reach 1,875 mph, or 2 1/2 times the speed of sound, and it
can soar to 65,000 feet. The F-16 costs about $11 million less, but also
tops out at about 1,500 mph and has a ceiling of about 50,000 feet.
The Pentagon's original recommendation to close the Great
Falls unit in Montana was rejected by the Base Closure and
Realignment Commission. Though the state has only one House
member and two senators, its lawmakers are united on this
front, and they are bound to fight any congressional effort
to fly their planes elsewhere.
"We think it's
important for Montana and the National Guard
that a flying mission be retained in
Montana," said Ashley Fingarson, spokeswoman
for Rep. Dennis Rehburg, R-Mont.
Briefing papers distributed by the
California officers ask that Congress direct
the Air Force to assign 26 F-15 fighters to
the 144th Fighter Wing no later than 2012.
In theory, Congress could do that in an
annual defense authorization or
appropriations bill.
"If that base
goes away, there's a significant hole in the
protection of the southwestern United
States," Garrison said.
Nothing is
imminent, nor are any decisions necessary
this year.
As an alternative to
legislation, Nunes said California lawmakers
are first likely to seek a firm Pentagon
assurance that the F-15s will end up in
Fresno. One step probably will be a letter
to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, or one
of his subordinates, signed by as many
California lawmakers as possible.
A
representative for Gov. Schwarzenegger
attended the afternoon session and indicated
the governor will likewise make the case to
Rumsfeld.
"There's no time like the
present to be proactive," Nunes said, adding
that "what we really want is some commitment
in writing."
As part of their pitch, the Californians are seeking $8.3
million to update the quarters serving the fighter wing
housed at Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
"To
keep them going, they're going to need a new
operations facility," Wade said.
The reporter can be reached at
mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com or (202) 383-0006.
