NGAUS

President's Message
By Maj. Gen. Ronald O. Harrison
May 2001

Pushing Aircraft Modernization

It's May and still no budget. Normally, at this point in the year we would not only have studied the president's funding proposals, we would be eagerly making our case on Capitol Hill. But President Bush is prudently considering what the military really needs to remain on top before he releases a plan.

The one good thing about waiting for the budget is that we have more time to marshal support. And we really need it. As the military is under review, and the Guard's role continues to be a topic of discussion, telling the Guard story and what we can do for the country is our best strategy.

But the Guard cannot be fully leveraged if we do not have what we need. More than anything else that means modern aircraft.

You will note that this is the focus of this month's National Guard magazine. A portion of the NGAUS Web site this month is also dedicated to the subject. There, you will find more information about the issue including fact sheets, articles and pre-written letters you can send to your elected representatives.

In addition to being the focus of the magazine and the Web site, aircraft modernization is a focal point for our legislative staff.

Here's why: The Army and Air National Guard have an aging, obsolete aircraft fleet that is of decreasing relevance to the Total Force.

Some of the Army Guard's older helicopters are on the way out. Army plans call for retiring 600 UH-1 Hueys by 2004. These aging aircraft and their chronic maintenance problems need to go. The problem is replacements. The Army Guard needs more UH-60 Black Hawks, but the current fielding rate falls well short of filling the need.

The Army wants to retire all the Guard's AH-1 Cobra helicopters even sooner than the Hueys. But there are no plans to convert the attack helicopters the Guard would have left--128 outdated AH-64A Apaches--to the newer D model. This leaves the Army Guard without a relevant attack helicopter fleet.

On the Air Guard side, all of its refuelers, airlifters, fighters and bombers must be modernized to insure future participation in the Air Force's expeditionary forces.

Replacing old engines on the 50's-era KC-135s will prolong the life of the aircraft while reducing engine maintenance costs by 95 percent. New engines would also extend the aircraft's range, meet noise and emissions standards, and standardize the Total Air Force fleet.

Some C-130 units are converting from E models to Js over an extended period of time. These conversions should be accelerated to avoid having C-130 units with a mix of aircraft where part of the unit is trained to fly and maintain one aircraft and the other part another.

The Air Guard also needs additional fighters. Right now, its only F-16C-J squadron participates in the Aerospace Expeditionary Force. Another two are needed for an entire AEF rotation.

Years of modernization neglect have placed the Army and Air Guard in this precarious position. To move toward a remedy would require an additional:

$47 million to convert six AH-64A to AH-64D model Apaches;
$202 million for 20 more UH-60L Black Hawks;
$95.4 million for six HH-60L Medevac Black Hawks;
$352 million per year for six years to replace engines in the KC-135;
$630 million for nine C-130J-30 aircraft; and
$418 million for 12 F-16C-J fighters for the Air Force so that it can cascade F-16C Block 52s to the Air Guard.

This is collectively our issue and you are vital to our collective success. Contact your elected representative and ask them to support these efforts. You can do this by calling (888) NGAUS99 to be connected to your representative's office or visiting the NGAUS Web site at http://www.ngaus.org/.

When a non-member asks you "why belong to NGAUS?" give them this magazine.

It's a privilege to serve as your NGAUS president.