DOD SIGNALS DEPOTS, INCLUDING RAFB, WILL GET STEADY WORK
June 15, 2002
Originally published in The Telegraph

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE — A senior Department of Defense official has assured Georgia congressmen that work will continue to be assigned to the nation's military depots, including the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center.

Undersecretary of Defense Pete Aldridge told U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, D-GA., and U.S. Rep. Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, in letters Friday that "we will retain sufficient supply, maintenance and repair, and logistics program management capabilities to sustain our essential equipment over its entire life cycle with the appropriate mix of government personnel, contractor personnel and public-private partnerships."

In. separate amendments to this year's defense authorization bill, Cleland and Chambliss, who are both running for Cleland's Senate seat this fall, introduced legislation that would specifically define "core capabilities" that should be maintained at military depots.

An increasing amount of maintenance work has been going to private contractors in recent years, and the legislators wanted to define exactly what sort of work had to be done by the military. Cleland and Chambliss have said depot-based maintenance is important to be able to fix equipment quickly during a crisis.

Some Air Force officials were critical of the legislators' definitions, saying they might jeopardize the public-private partnerships that have increased efficiency. One example is Robins' maintenance contract with Boeing, the manufacturer of the C-17 cargo plane.

Both sides see the issue as vital to Robins' survival during the next round of base closures.

Although Aldridge did not specifically identify which skills and work should be maintained at the depot level — in fact, the Air Force will not submit its long-term depot strategy to Congress until September — Cleland and Chambliss say they are pleased by Aldridge's letter.

"This letter is a statement that they recognize these skills as essential," Cleland wrote in a statement.

Chambliss said he was "delighted," and called Aid-ridge's remarks a "clear commitment to ensuring that the government retains a sufficient cadre of logistics specialties to sustain critical weapons throughout their use by the military."

For more information contact Pat Topping with Macon Economic Development Commission

478-621-2030
P.O. Box 169
Macon, Georgia 31202