Vernon Janice lifts weights at the Potter Fitness Center, Misawa Air Base, Japan; one of the facilities that may be affected by reduced funding. (Stars and Stripes file photo)

Pacific Air Forces is feeling the pinch of one of the tightest funding years in recent memory.

Some bases are parking government vehicles, halting maintenance projects and asking fitness center customers to bring their own towels.

“I would say this is the most dramatic cut in funding in 17 years from one year to the next,” said Lt. Col. Kari Mostert, 35th Services Squadron commander at Misawa Air Base, Japan.

Misawa’s services operations and maintenance (O&M) budget has been slashed in half from $600,000 in fiscal year 2004 to $300,000 in fiscal 2005, Mostert said. Those dollars come from a lean wing budget, where to date O&M is about $10 million less than what it was this time last year, according to Lt. Col. Karen Mertes, 35th Fighter Wing comptroller.

At Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, officials expect a $4 million bottom-line dip this year, though overall the projected fiscal 2005 budget of $238 million falls far short of last year’s $251 million, according to 18th Wing Comptroller Lt. Col. Joel Speight.

Commands are dipping into O&M to pay for the war on terror. PACAF has “loaned” $130 million of O&M money to Air Mobility and Air Combat commands for war costs, officials said. At the wing level, units are shifting dollars to front costs to deploy and equip their warfighting troops, hoping to recoup some of those expenses later.

Air Force bases in the Pacific started to rein in funding in early March, after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper ordered cutbacks in the face of a $3 billion shortfall for the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Mertes said money this year is flowing to the wing less often.

“Last year, money flowed [more] regularly; these types of cuts weren’t seen by the community,” Mertes said. “This year it’s a little bit tighter, but that’s to be expected being in another year of the war.”

Pentagon leaders are awaiting congressional approval of a special $82 billion supplemental appropriation request to cover some of the shortfall. It would pay for “much of the cost to deploy troops to … Afghanistan and Iraq … and sustain those forces once they’re there,” said Col. Rory B. Cahoon, PACAF comptroller. The request also includes the Air Forces’ requirement for more than $800 million to address higher fuel prices, Cahoon said, noting that between fiscal 2004 and 2005, JP-8 jet fuel has increased 47 percent, from 91 cents a gallon to $1.34 a gallon.

“The supplemental funding will cover a good bit of that cost,” Cahoon said, referring to the war and fuel, “but it won’t cover all of it.”

“We’re still going to get the mission done,” Cahoon said. “We just have to make some choices that this year put a lot of challenge on us to be creative on how we do that.”

Misawa Air Base officials say they’re taking a hard look at what’s mission-essential and what’s not.

“We’re allowed to fund things that keep doors open,” Mostert said, such as sanitizing dining facilities and providing employees with uniforms.

Cuts this spring within services include replacing contracted referees with volunteers and eliminating intramural sports program trophies, as well as doing away with free linens at the gym. Also, this summer no lifeguards will be posted at the base beach, Mostert said. Signs will be posted to “swim at your own risk.”

In jeopardy is the library’s summer reading program, Mostert said, and Misawa officials are considering charging for library computer printing services. No reduction in hours at base facilities has been directed, he noted, but Mostert said officials are closely looking at whether the base can continue to afford 24-hour operations at Potter Fitness Center, and the Expressway at Grissom Dining Facility, which serves limited meals two hours after regular dining closes.

Other cost-saving measures implemented recently include parking 450 nonmission-essential government vehicles and reducing operating hours of the base’s shuttle bus, to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.

Mertes noted, however the most significant reduction is reducing flying time by 625 hours.

“The cost associated with putting an F-16 in the air is $4,638 per flight hour,” she said. Misawa officials said that fighter pilots would meet the 5 percent reduction by shortening each sortie by a few minutes.

Yokota Air Base, Japan, is reducing C-130 flying hours by about 10 percent, Lt. Col. Zeke Mora, 374th Comptroller Squadron commander, said in a written response. C-21 and UH-1N aircraft operations won’t be impacted.

“Although we are flying less hours for direct missions than previous years, we continue to fly Air Mobility Command missions so our aircrew members are still receiving the same amount of training to keep their skills proficient,” Mora noted.

Other belt-tightening measures at Yokota, where current O&M money is down about $2 million from last fiscal year, include limiting temporary duty to mission-essential travel and scaling down the civilian awards and student summer-hire programs, Mora said. The base has also delayed installation of air conditioning in the base chapel and asbestos removal at the skills development center.

“As of now, we have not canceled these projects until we see how the rest of the year pans out,” Mora stated.

Kadena is also deferring several projects, including repaving the runway, preventative air conditioning maintenance, and roofing and electrical upkeep. The delayed items won’t cause any undue hardship for now; however, how they’re funded within the next three to five years could make a difference, Speight said. Some projects may only need to be deferred to the end of the year if more funding becomes available in future quarters, he said.

Speight said servicemembers won’t see any differences in their day-to-day quality of life, but they shouldn’t expect new programs promoting quality of life, either.

Vernon Janice lifts weights at the Potter Fitness Center, Misawa Air Base, Japan; one of the facilities that may be affected by reduced funding. (Stars and Stripes file photo)

Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyrell Phew attempts to connect to the new wireless Internet connection at the base library, Yokota Air Base, Japan, on March 8. Due to budget cuts, officials are considering charging people for printing services. (T.D. Flack / Stars and Stripes)