FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Air Force says in a new report that it plans to transfer all its F-16 fighter jets based at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, leading to fears that the base could be targeted when the military considers base closures or realignments.
The 21 fighter jets will be relocated to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, “allowing us to achieve savings in base support at Eielson,” according to the report obtained Friday by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
The transfer will take place in fiscal year 2013. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage will have some H-130 cargo planes retired or transferred the same year, the report said.
The document is dated February and titled “USAF Force Structure Changes: Sustaining Readiness and Modernizing the Total Force.” It’s posted on the newspaper’s website.
Sgt. Tim Jenkins, public affairs officer for the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson, confirmed the report’s contents Friday but declined to discuss the document beyond what was printed in it.
Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said he’s concerned by the Air Force’s plans, and has requested a briefing from military officials.
“We should not be moving personnel and equipment — especially C-130s that are crucial to search and rescue missions throughout Alaska — farther from the Arctic when we’re on the verge of finally realizing the potential of what the Arctic has to offer,” he said in a statement.”
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced last week the Pentagon will seek new rounds of military base closures, prompting Alaska’s congressional delegation and Gov. Sean Parnell to issue a joint statement saying they will stand together to resist attempts to close or shrink Alaska bases.
The military in May 2005 recommended closure of 33 major bases and substantial reductions at 29 more. That included the recommended partial shutdown of Eielson Air Force Base, the sprawling airfield in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, which housed a squadron of F-16 fighters and A-10 Thunderbolts.
The Defense Department recommended Eielson for “warm” status, a part-time base where squadrons from other bases could use for training.
The Pentagon in 2005 projected Eielson’s loss at 2,821 military jobs and 319 civilian jobs — just under 4 percent of the Fairbank North Star Borough population without counting 3,300 dependents. The military estimated a savings of $2.7 billion over 20 years at Eielson.
When the Base Realignment and Closure Commission visited Fairbanks a month after the announcement, the community responded with fervor.
More than 3,000 residents filled a civic center for the hearing. The late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, retired Air Force General Pat Gamble and retired Army Maj. Gen. Mark Hamilton, the current and former presidents of the University of Alaska, made impassioned statements in opposition to Eielson changes, noting its strategic importance on polar air routes and its location at the midway point of the trans-Alaska pipeline.
The testimony and show of community support worked. The base lost its A-10 warthogs but kept the F-16s and most permanent employees.
In November, the military announced that 45 civilian jobs at Eielson would be eliminated over the next five years.
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