Looming cuts to the budget of Air National Guard and Reserve refuelers in the northeast has left the Air Force scrambling to find ways to move troops and equipment from the U.S. to Europe and the war zones. (Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A National Guard mid-air refueling program for flights headed to Europe and the Middle East was extended one more month, but its status beyond November remains uncertain, the Air Force said Thursday.
The decision by the Air Force to temporarily fund the Northeast Tanker Task Force means that about 400 Guardsmen and Reservists will continue receiving full-time pay through Nov. 30.
The task force funding initially was one casualty among millions of dollars in cuts to the Air Force's war contingency budget. However, concerns from Capitol Hill lawmakers about its effect on war operations and job losses in their home states earned the refueling mission a reassessment.
Task force Guardsmen say their locations along the northeast seaboard make in-flight refueling more efficient than if it were done at other bases with KC-135 refueling tankers, many of which are in the Midwest.
In a phone call late Thursday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was told by Air Force Undersecretary Erin Conaton that the service would make a final decision once Congress approves its 2011 budget, according to a news release from Collins' office.
The federal government is operating on a temporary budget through Dec. 3. the release said.
"I am hopeful that we're making progress on the vast majority of the jobs, but I recognize that there will be some individuals for whom the active duty order won't be renewed past Nov. 30," Collins told The Associated Press after being briefed by Conaton.
About 145 of the jobs on the chopping block are located at the 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor, Maine, according to statements from Collins' office.
Gen. Raymond Johns, commander of the Air Mobility Command, will visit the 101st ARW on Nov. 4, according to his spokesman, Lt. Col. Glen Roberts.
Collins also called for an additional $378 million to be added to the Air Force contingency budget in a Thursday memo to the Senate Appropriations committee.
The Senate initially approved the additional funds as part of a $1.93 billion package, but the House appropriations defense subcommittee did not, according to the memo obtained by Stars and Stripes.
Regardless of the Northeast Tanker Task Force's fate, the Air Mobility Command continues to assess how to prioritize personnel and supply moves to bases throughout the world, Roberts said.
"Bottom line — we're going to meet the needs of whatever the combatant commanders tell us to do," Roberts said Thursday night.
The Northeast Tanker Task Force includes the 101st ARW at Bangor Air National Guard Base; the 108th ARW and 514th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire, N.J.; the 157th ARW at Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H., and the 171st ARW at Pittsburgh International Airport, Pa.
