Defense bill addresses Ohio Air Guard bases
COLUMBUS (AP) — The final version of a federal defense-spending bill will preserve a fleet of aircraft at an Air National Guard base in Mansfield but does nothing to preserve the full fleet of 18 KC-135 tankers at a Columbus base.
The National Defense Authorization Act calls for the Air Force to retain cargo aircraft in its inventory to fulfill the airlift mission performed by units such as the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield.
But House and Senate negotiators stripped language from the final version that would freeze any proposed reduction in KC-135 aircraft at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, meaning the Air Force has the option of reducing that fleet, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
House and Senate negotiators Tuesday night worked out differences in their versions of the bill to come up with the final one that could be voted on the next several days.
The bill was partly in response to proposed cuts to the Air Guard and Air Force Reserve called for by President Barack Obama last year. Those cuts would have affected more than 60 installations in 33 states and were aimed at saving $8.7 billion by retiring 200 planes and cutting 10,000 air-crew members.
Obama’s plans called for cutting six aircraft from the 18 at Rickenbacker.