State officials to propose dispersing Air Guard more widely

Adjutants general from around the country will meet in Washington Friday to propose an alternative to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's plan to ground 23 Air Guard units around the country.

The meeting is intended to serve as a "starting point" for discussions with the Air Force and the independent Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission on alternatives to Rumsfeld's recommendation, said Maj. Gen. Roger Lempke, president of the Adjutants General Association of the United States.

The meeting comes after two months of wrangling between state officials and the Pentagon over whether the Defense Department has the authority to alter or deactivate state-run units. Guard leaders have said the secretary's Air Guard plan -- perhaps the most controversial of the Pentagon recommendations in this base-closure and realignment round -- will devastate aviation units and hinder recruitment and retention efforts.

Lempke already has drafted one compromise solution whereby all states would retain at least some aircraft. "This does not return everything back to the way it was," said Lempke, who also serves as the adjutant general of Nebraska. "What it does is try to more evenly and properly distribute missions and aircraft throughout the nation." For instance, the Guard would skim aircraft from squadrons expected to grow under the BRAC recommendation to preserve flying capabilities in other units. Lempke proposes limiting units in California, Illinois and North Carolina to eight C-130 aircraft so West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware can keep their planes. Lempke proposes making similar moves with aerial refueling tankers and fighter jets.

The proposal, however, might not gain the support of the Air Force, which wants to move the Guard aircraft to build larger squadrons of fighter and transport planes, which it contends can better meet homeland defense goals and overseas commitments.

The independent BRAC commission is evaluating the Pentagon's base-closure list and will submit its recommendations to the White House by Sept. 8. Meanwhile, Guard leaders in states affected by the BRAC recommendations might not fully support the compromise proposal, which still leaves some states with sparse aircraft.

"Obviously, this is a very difficult issue that we face throughout the states and there are just many moving parts and many influences," Lempke said. "It is a starting point [leading to] some recommendations the BRAC can use productively."

BRAC Chairman Anthony Principi has said it might be "irresponsible" to overturn all of Rumsfeld's Air Guard recommendations. Principi said Monday he wants the Defense Department and the adjutants general to reach a solution in the next several weeks.