This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 10, 2013 - WASHINGTON – When the Air Force failed to list Belleville’s Scott AFB among its finalists to host the next-generation refueling tanker aircraft, the announcement set off alarm bells for lawmakers who want to protect Scott from future realignments.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he was “very disappointed,” while U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said he was “disappointed and concerned” by the Air Force's decision. Even Missouri’s senators – knowing they represent many of Scott’s 13,000 military and civilian workers – expressed concern.
“The men and women serving at Scott Air Force Base, many of whom are Missourians, carry out missions critical to our national security interests around the globe," said U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., adding that she was “confident that the base will continue to be a strong candidate for future basing decisions.”
For his part, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he also was unhappy with the Air Force's decision, which excluded the base in spite of the fact that Scott was “a strong candidate for this opportunity.” Both Blunt and McCaskill are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
And U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart, D-Belleville, a retired general and former Illinois adjutant general who has a seat on the House Armed Services Committee, said, “It is essential that Scott’s role, central location and unique ability to support critical missions” not be overlooked in such Pentagon decisions.
To outsiders, the Air Force announcement Tuesday – excluding Scott from the list of four other bases that will be considered for the formal training unit and the main operating base for the new KC-46A tanker – appeared to be a relatively minor blow to Scott. After all, Scott is the headquarters of the Air Mobility Command, an aeromedical evacuation mission and the 126th Air Refueling Wing, which moved there from Chicago in 1999.
But the basing of the KC-46A – a new long-range tanker to be manufactured by Boeing Co., with the first ones ready by 2016 – is considered an important decision on the future of Air Force refueling efforts. And installations such as Scott where the current aging fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers are based eventually might lose out to the KC-46A bases.
“The KC-46A will have enhanced refueling capacity and capabilities, improved efficiency, and increased capabilities for cargo and aeromedical evacuation as compared to the KC-135R, making it a vital component to maintaining our global reach for years to come,” said the Air Force’s chief of staff, Gen. Mark Welsh
And experts say there is little doubt that bases that are expanding to take over new commands will have an edge in surviving cuts under the next Base Closing and Realignment (BRAC) round, which is likely to start this year or next.
Other bases to be chosen later for new tanker aircraft
While Scott’s exclusion from the initial KC-46A candidate list surprised some lawmakers, the Air Force announcement this week addressed only the first phase of its plan to base a large number of the aircraft across the country, perhaps at 10 bases.
The Air Force’s initial candidate bases for the KC-46A formal training unit are Altus AFB in Oklahoma and McConnell AFB in Kansas. Those two bases – along with Fairchild AFB in Washington and Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota – are the candidates to become the main operating base of the new tankers.
Meanwhile, five other, smaller air stations – Forbes Air Guard Station in Kansas; Joint-Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey; Pease Air Guard Station in New Hampshire; Pittsburgh International Airport Air Guard Station in Pennsylvania; and the Rickenbacker Air Guard Station in Ohio – were selected as candidates for the first Air National Guard-led KC-46A mobile base.
In a statement, Welsh said the 179 planned KC-46A aircraft – which will cost about $225 million apiece – represent only the initial phase of a three-phase effort to replace more than 400 KC-135 and 59 KC-10 tankers. The first phase of what the Air Force calls “tanker recapitalization” will complete deliveries in fiscal 2028. He went on to emphasize the importance of continuing KC-135 modernization efforts.
But, in what seemed to be a reassuring message for Scott AFB, Welsh said, “The KC-135 units not replaced with the KC-46A will continue to fly the KC-135R for the foreseeable future. Throughout tanker recapitalization, the Air Force is committed to ensuring continued support of combatant commander requirements.”
In making the final decision on the major bases for the new tankers, the Air Force will ask its major commands to do “site surveys” of the candidate bases – considering their locations, the potential conflicts with existing missions, and the cost of basing new tankers there. The Air Force plans to announce its final choices this spring.
“We are committed to executing a deliberate, repeatable and standardized basing process,” said Kathleen Ferguson, the Air Force’s deputy assistant secretary for installations, environment and logistics.
Senators plan to review Air Force decision
But lawmakers from Illinois and Missouri questioned the decision-making process, saying in a bipartisan news release that “the joint Illinois and Missouri delegation will review the details surrounding the Air Force’s decision.”
Kirk said he was “concerned that Scott did not receive a site visit from Air Mobility Command until” this week. “Scott's central location, capable Guard members, and proven track record make it an ideal candidate to serve as the Air National Guard-led Main Operating Base 2.”
Durbin, the Senate’s assistant majority leader, promised to “continue to work with my Senate colleagues and the Air Force on all future opportunities to utilize Scott’s central location, superior infrastructure, and skilled and experienced workforce.”
Enyart also pledged to work on the House Armed Services Committee to make sure that Scott is considered in the next round of decisions on basing tankers and other Air Force missions.
“My top priority is to fight for good jobs and protect Scott Air Force Base,” said Enyart in a statement Thursday to the Beacon. “It is essential that Scott’s role, central location and unique ability to support critical missions is not overlooked.”
While Enyart said he was “disappointed that Scott was not picked for the first wave of new tankers, I am confident that by working with the delegation and the Air Force, we can ensure Scott’s continued success.”
Update In a joint statement Friday with Enyart, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, also pledged to work to make sure that Scott is a candidate for future missions.
“The central location of Scott Air Force Base and the expertise of the men and women who work there make the Air Force's decision extremely disappointing and quite perplexing,” Davis said.
“Moving forward, I will work with the Air Force and members of the Illinois and Missouri delegations to ensure that Scott is a candidate for future opportunities.” End update
In September, Kirk and Durbin had written to Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley, touting Scott as a perfect base for the new tankers.
“Scott’s world-class refueling capabilities, central location to current and future refueling demand and cost-effective basing make it an ideal candidate,” the senators wrote in the letter.
Among the arguments for Scott as the main operating base for the new tankers, Kirk and Durbin cited the capability of the 126th Air Refueling Wing and the aeromedical evacuation mission at Scott.
In an interview shortly before his retirement from Congress this month, former U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello – the Belleville Democrat who had fought to defend Scott during several base-closing rounds, including 2005 – said the base was vital to the Metro East region.
Noting that Scott generates an estimated $3 billion a year for the region’s economy and is Illinois’ largest employer south of Springfield, Costello said, “We were able to educate, not only people back home, but people here on Capitol Hill and the Base Realignment Commission that Scott AFB had a lot of assets and the ability to grow. We argued that it should not be considered for closure, but should be considered to take on new missions.”
Costello added: “We were successful, and new missions have been brought to Scott.”