General thoughts

And now for a few notes on the news about the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith losing its A-10 planes and mission by mid-2013, and instead receiving what may amount to a fancy remote control box.

1. Let’s step back, and take a deep breath. Relax. This deal may not go down. Anything could happen from here forward. Congress will get involved. A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G could happen. We’ll see if military strategy is considered or tossed when the political strategy kicks in during a presidential election cycle.



2. It’s hard to get excited about working hard to retain a platform (the A-10) that is set to expire in 2020. The generals say keeping an A-10 mission creates a better chance to pursue in the future an F-35 mission. But that seems more subjective than substantiated. Anything can lead to a new mission. That’s how we ended up with the A-10‘s.



3. Speaking of the generals, it’s been uncomfortable watching the hide-the-ball stuff with the Air Guard. For example, this General Balch fella didn’t bother to mention that this new “exciting” and “emerging” mission with remote-controlled, unmanned planes means there ARE NO aircraft at the 188th. No planes in Fort Smith. It took a round of media questions to pull that little nugget of truth out the “exciting” and “emerging” and changing story about the future of the 188th.



No aircraft here means a great majority of the the 350-plus jobs and 1,000 drilling reservists with the 188th won’t be needed. But General Balch says we won’t know that until a March report is released. No, General, we know that now. No planes, no plane-support jobs. Folks in this community don’t need stars on collars to do that math.



4. Speaking of the community, it’s been discouraging watching the hide-the-ball stuff with this 188th steering committee council thing. Some folks with the council took exception with media folks who provided the community more informative counsel about what may be coming down the pike. Apparently, it’s not a good thing for folks in the media to attempt to inform the peasants about what is being said or talked about elsewhere.



And, begging the patience of Kind Readers for just a few more notes on this point, let’s remind the generals and community council leaders that we live here. We hear the chatter about members of the 188th doing all they can to get orders for other jobs. We hear the chatter from 188th members who have good reason to believe their expertise on the inner workings of an A-10 won’t be needed in the very near future. We hear this chatter from 188th members who have families to think about — which is terrifically more important to the soldiers than message-control games.



5. All of us want what is best for our community. But sometimes what is best for our community may not be what is best for our country. We’ve had military bases and military-equipment production centers dispersed for decades around this country based on Congressional district considerations rather than national defense. (President Eisenhower said it would be like this.)



Would I like to keep in Fort Smith the 188th with a real mission with real planes and real pilots and real aircraft support and real people who can help organize a kick-ass Air Show? Hell yes! But do I have a full grasp of what’s best for the near- and long-term U.S. defense budgeting and force positioning? Nope. And I’d bet at least 99% of the 11 or so folks who read this Riff Raff don’t either.



Is the 188th the most efficient A-10 unit in the force? Probably. Is the A-10 the most efficient use of resources in a military transitioning to a reality where capability is more important than size? I don’t know. And you probably don’t, either. We should want a good answer to that question before opposing or supporting the Air Force proposal.



6. This call for Congressional hearings into the deep defense budget cuts is funny in a maddening sort of way; like the day nothing goes right at the office and when you pull into your driveway after the long unrewarding day at work you notice the wife’s vehicle has a flat tire and the neighbor’s dog has been into the trash.


Congress has spent the past several decades doing things other than balancing budgets, conducting better oversight of foreign policy and military spending, maintaining domestic infrastructure and other fundamental obligations of an institution representing one-third of the federal government. Now these well-financed boys and girls want to question how a branch of the military moves planes and personnel around so as to keep our national defense strong and work within budget constraints created by the aforementioned well-financed boys and girls. Wow. That’s a lot like an arsonist questioning the number of pumper trucks the fire department uses to extinguish the results of his sickness.



And, just to be clear, an important thing to do now is step back. Relax. As a community, we might want a better — more transparent — report of the situation from our Generals and community council leaders before we fire our guns of community support.



Or, to use a tried and true military tactic: Ready, aim and then shoot.