New Orleans A-10s arrive at Whiteman

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WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. (AFPN) --  This base continues to absorb people and planes from hurricane-ravaged Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, La., accepting the second to last A-10 Thunderbolt II March 16.

Falling in line with Base Realignment and Closure committee recommendations, the original plan had the naval base delivering aircraft and people to Whiteman over three years. Hurricane Katrina shortened that plan considerably.

“We’re cramming three years of work into the next eight months,” said Col. Patrick Cord, 442nd Fighter Wing commander. “I’m confident the wing is up to the challenge. We’re professional, we’re experienced and we’ve proven ourselves in combat.”

Whiteman is now challenged with deciding how its going to integrate nine aircraft and additional people into existing facilities and organizations.

While the timeline for realigning the 926th FW is earlier than expected, officials at Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., stress that an early move is necessary because of Hurricane Katrina's damage to the New Orleans base.

"The timeline for moving aircraft and closing the 926th Fighter Wing is based on two key factors -- the need to transform the military and the way we do business, and taking care of our personnel," said Maj. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., director of plans and programs at AFRC headquarters. "Mission demands dictate that timeline."

After assessing the hurricane's damage, it was determined that the 926th FW would not be able to maintain wartime readiness past a certain point.

To help the 442nd FW with manpower issues related to the BRAC decision, a site activation task force team from AFRC headquarters visited Whiteman AFB March 7 to 9 to assess the needs of the agencies and units in the wing affected most by the addition of nine aircraft. An environmental impact assessment must also be made before the transfer is complete.

Besides caring for more aircraft, the 442nd Maintenance Group is likely to gain most of the new people with the transfer.

"In the short term, it's going to be extremely busy, accepting airplanes and accomplishing the flying mission short-handed," said Chief Master Sgt. Donald Shoop, 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron superintendent. "Our goal is to have all of our (full-time) air reserve technician positions filled by October."

The 442nd Operations Group will gain the rest of the new positions and face an increase in its flying-hour budget to match the additional aircraft.

"(The flying-hour budget) is going to go up proportionally to what it is now," said Lt. Col. Stephen Chappel, 303rd Fighter Squadron director of operations. "We will be flying a lot more jets on a day-to-day basis. We're flying 13 sorties a day now and we're looking at increasing that to 18 sorties."

The last A-10 from New Orleans is expected to arrive at Whiteman AFB in June when it will be released from the depot maintenance facility at Hill AFB, Utah. (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)