Chesterfield Township State lawmakers, business leaders fight Guard cuts

By Mike Householder Associated Press CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Business leaders, elected officials and others are joining forces to persuade Air Force brass to pull back the throttle on their plan to cut hundreds of Air National Guard personnel in Macomb County, Battle Creek and Alpena. The planned cuts have done the seemingly unthinkable. They have united the 15 members of Michigan's congressional delegation, the state's two senators and even the executives of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, plus the mayor of Detroit -- all of whom don't always get along so famously. The reason for the unanimity is this: The parties fear cuts will put hundreds of military personnel out of a job at a time when the Michigan and regional economies are finally starting to show signs of life, and jeopardize the security of the state's citizens. "This is not about politics. It's about public safety," Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said prior to this past week's meeting of the Selfridge Air National Guard Base Community Council. Hackel, the Democratic former county sheriff, and Republican Kathy Vosburg, the chair of the county Board of Commissioners, stood shoulder-to-shoulder, smiling and posing for pictures in a room filled with area business leaders and military personnel. "It's extremely important that we get the message out," Hackel said. One Michigan lawmaker with the power to do something about it, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, was able to get out his message on the same day. The Detroit Democrat chaired a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Air Force's 2013 budget proposal. "I've got some real problems with these proposed force reductions," Levin said during his questioning of Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, who vowed not to implement the proposed cuts until more discussions are held between Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the Council of Governors. Active duty Air National Guard members serve under the command of their governor until mobilized for federal duty, generally to augment active and reserve forces in wartime. The proposed defense budget would reduce the Air Force by 3,900 active duty, 5,100 Air National Guard and 900 Air Force Reserve personnel to a staffing level of 501,000. In Michigan, the Air Force is looking to cut a net 450 part-time jobs and 200 full-time jobs at Selfridge with the relocation of two-dozen A-10 Thunderbolt II air-to-ground attack aircraft, Tech. Sgt. Dan Heaton said. And, according to Capt. Craig Warn with the 110th Airlift Wing, his unit, located at the W.K. Kellogg base in Battle Creek, faces a net reduction of 93 part-time and 29 full-time Guard members. The plan also calls for a reduction of 25-full-time positions at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who also testified before Levin's committee, said the goal remains for the military to maintain its capabilities, but considering "fiscal circumstances, both presently and for the foreseeable future, helping to ensure America's success requires carefully calibrated choices." U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, a Republican who lives not far from Selfridge in Macomb County's Harrison Township, said she's all for being fiscally prudent when it comes to budgetary matters, but wonders why the Air National Guard is bearing the brunt of the cuts. The Air National Guard represents 35 percent of the Air Force's air capability and only 6 percent of the cost, she said, but it is being asked to absorb 59 percent of the cuts in total aircraft. "Our nation is faced with the need to find cost savings within the Department of Defense budget, and I understand the need to look at every program to find waste and trim fat," Miller said. "If budgetary savings are the goal, then it makes little sense that the majority of cuts come from the most cost-effective part of the Air Force -- the Air National Guard." Published: Tue, Mar 27, 2012