Government workers may replace contractors

DAYTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s goal of converting more private contractors into civilian employees has some defense contractors based near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base worried.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ proposed budget would replace contractors with 13,800 government employees across the country.

An economic-impact analysis by the 88th Air Base Wing found at least 5,350 contract-workers at the Dayton base in 2007. But that number didn’t include contractors who work outside the base as support personnel.

The government’s hiring of more direct federal-government employees could be rough for the Dayton area, said John McCance, president of the state’s Air Force Association. Some contractors who work at Wright-Patterson are world-renowned people who have been hand-picked by the government for their capabilities, he said.

“And the government is not structured to be able to pay these people the type of salaries they deserve for the level of expertise they bring to the table,” he said.

The Defense Department’s proposed budget has yet to pass Congress, and a degree of uncertainty continues among the region’s defense contractors, said Joe Zeis of the Dayton Development Coalition, whose members include defense contractors.

The coalition and individual contractors in the region worry about how the Defense Department will convert defense contractors to government employees. A too-blunt approach wouldn’t be an easy sell at Wright-Patterson, where many contractors work in very specialized technical areas.

But it’s too soon to know whether the region will end up losing jobs, said Dale Kirby, an employee of NCI Information Systems Inc. and the past president of the Dayton Area Defense Contractors Association.

The upcoming base realignment and closure process will shift about 1,200 jobs to Wright-Patterson in the next few years, which could offset any job losses, he said. Also, the Defense Department plans to hire about 20,000 government employees in acquisitions by 2015, which also could send more workers to the base.