Air Force announces personnel cuts for 2004

The Air Force will eliminate 2,660 military and 2,440 civilian positions in fiscal 2004 by making cuts at bases across the country.

"Many bases, both active duty and reserve component, are affected by the realignment. In many cases, units will gain aircraft and missions, while others will pare down," said the Air Force's 2004 Force Structure Announcement released last week. The service announces such changes in force structure annually.

The Air Force announced late last year that it would realign some 13,000 positions by the end of the decade. "This restructuring of manpower positions isn't an attempt to reduce our overall end strength," said Brig. Gen. W. P. Ard, director of Air Force manpower and organization at the Pentagon in announcing the plan. "Rather, it's an effort to shape our workforce to meet our future steady state."

All told, about 9,300 military and 3,900 civilian positions will be realigned. The 2004 announcement is the first wave of realignments. The active duty shifts and cuts are designed to free up airmen for front-line warfighting work and fill career specialties, like intelligence and security, with personnel shortages. On the civilian side, the Air Force said wholesale cuts will not be made, but some of those employees will lose their jobs if they cannot be retrained or relocate.

The announcement said significant force structure changes should be expected in the future as the Air Force begins leasing tanker aircraft, builds more C-17 cargo aircraft and deploy new F/A-22 Raptor fighter planes. The service also announced the retirement of 44 KC-135 air refueling aircraft, which are more than 40 years old, and also retired 20 C-9A medical evacuation aircraft.

The job cuts range from one or two employees to a few hundred employees at various locations, including:

• Air Force depots: Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia will lose 162 civilian and 31 military positions; the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center will lose 119 civilian and 25 military positions; and Ogden Air Logistics Center in Utah will lose 144 civilian and 43 military positions.
• Air Force command headquarters: Citing management restructuring as a reason for shedding positions, the Air Force is cutting jobs at several command headquarters. Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va., will shed 112 military jobs, Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, will cut 116 military and 4 civilian jobs. And Pacific Air Force headquarters at Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii, will lose 60 military jobs.
• Brooks Air Force Base, Texas: The privatization of Brooks Air Force Base, under a long-term leasing agreement with the city of San Antonio, will lead to the elimination of 95 civilian and 42 military jobs.

The biggest civilian job cuts include 125 positions at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; 132 positions at the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; and 172 positions at the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Those cuts are attributed to "workforce reshaping."

The large gains included 249 military positions at Davis-Mothan Air Force Base, Ariz., as additional cargo aircraft are brought in, and 216 military positions at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., as the first F/A-22 aircraft are fielded. Military personnel downsizing at other bases offset those gains.

Click here for a detailed breakdown of force structure changes by state.