Forum: Air Force Life

The chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee is considering an increase in the Pentagon's budget--the request for which tops $700 billion in fiscal year 2007 and 2008.

"It looks like to me the Air Force needs more money. It looks like we can't do what we'd like to do without more money," Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) told Defense Daily after a subcommittee hearing yesterday on Air Force funding.

During the hearing, Murtha indicated he would support the purchase of aircraft not included in the Air Force's budget request. He has also expressed support for buying five more ships than the Navy has requested and backs resetting Army equipment used during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The subcommittee is holding a series of hearings with services chiefs. Murtha said those hearings should provide the answers he needs.

"We're seeing whether we can do it within the constraints of the budget. Then I have to go to leadership to see if they're willing to increase the budget," Murtha said. "What we're doing is building a case and listening to the military talk about the problems they have, and then we'll try to fit in the priorities we see."

That also may include finding ways to save money.

One way discussed during yesterday's hearing may stir up a perennial fight about whether Congress should continue to decide whether aircraft can be retired.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne said they are seeking the authority to "manage" the fleet.

Limits put in place by Congress prevent the service from retiring KC-135E Stratotankers, C-130E Hercules, B-52 Stratofortress bombers, U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes, F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters, and C-5A Galaxy airlifters, Moseley said.

According to Wynne, the cost of maintaining all of the platforms that the Air Force wants to retire but need to be maintained is $1.7 billion per year starting in FY '08.

"Maybe we can use some of that money to buy more aircraft," Murtha said after the hearing.

That might be a tall order given the fact that members of Congress, including Senate Democrats now in leadership positions, have stepped in to restrict retirement of aircraft in the past, according to a congressional aide.

But House appropriators during yesterday's hearing helped the Air Force make its argument.

Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) asked whether the Air Force has a requirement for more C-17 Globemaster aircraft beyond the 190 funded by Congress. Lawmakers last year added funding for 10 C-17s made by Boeing [BA].

Wynne responded that because the Air Force does not have the authority to retire its A-model C-5 platforms made by Lockheed Martin [LMT], mobility capability studies continue to show that the service does not need additional C-17s.

The service chief agreed, saying the Air Force's fleet of about 60 C-5A aircraft cost a lot because they "usually break." Accordingly, a Fleet Viability Board has recommended that some of those planes need to be grounded. The Air Force wants to keep the C-5 B platforms and its two C-5C planes used for classified missions, he said.

The Air Force needs a strategic airlifter fleet of about 300 planes, Moseley said. So that means the service doesn't need more C-17s if it can't "get rid of the C-5s."

He said part of the reason is that if the service has too many strategic airlifters, companies will be less willing to participate in the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet program that helps the military when the need for airlift is greater than what the military can provide.