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McChord wing absorbs displaced reservists

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nick Przybyciel
  • 446th Airlift Wing
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Earlier this year the 446th Airlift Wing opened its doors to 138 Airmen affected by force realignment and the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act.

That number is likely to grow, as at least 20 more Air Force reservists who train at the Portland Air National Guard Base, Ore., are slated to trickle into the 446th AW beginning in January. They are members of the Air Force Reserve Command air refueling wing at Portland that is being eliminated because of BRAC.

Force realignment hit the 419th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, bringing up the possibility that Master Sgt. Jace Bitton and about 50 of his coworkers may have to end their careers early. The 419th FW will lose its fleet of F-16s to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Carswell Field, Texas, and Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., as part of the Air Force's BRAC efforts.

Under Total Force Integration, the Reserve's 419th FW will form a classic associate unit to work with Air Combat Command's 388th FW. The realignment is designed to produce greater combat effectiveness with both units flying and maintaining the same aircraft.

This move reduced the number of reservists needed by the 419th FW, particularly in maintenance. That's when McChord's 446th AW offered to take in displaced reservists.

Climbing into a C-17 that just touched down at Hill AFB on Sept. 20, Sergeant Bitton has mixed emotions about the move to McChord.

He's a bit unsettled that he'll be leaving his wife and five children for three days, and also a tad worried that billeting won't be lined up for him when he gets to McChord. But, on the positive side, he's relieved he still has the opportunity to continue his career in the Air Force Reserve.

The leaders in the 446th AW feel force realignment and BRAC has presented a win-win situation for all involved.

"We have benefited from them coming here. Our manning is over 100 percent now. It gave them the opportunity to continue their career. It gave us the opportunity to fill some vacancies that have been there for a long time," said Col. Jon Huguley, 446th Maintenance Group commander.

Colonel Huguley's group began receiving maintenance Airmen from the 419th FW last November. In order to facilitate the transportation requirements of getting 50 Airmen from Utah to Washington, four training sorties per month were built into the wing's schedule. This allows C-17s to land at Hill AFB, where they pick up and return reservists for unit training assemblies here.

Since the shuttle arrives on Friday before UTAs, the reservists from Utah put in a bit more time than most traditional reservists on their training weekends.

"A (local) reservist just gives up a weekend, but we give up three days," said Sergeant Bitton. "It doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot of sacrifice for us. I've got a wife and five kids at home. A weekend for them is a little bit different than what it was before."

However, Sergeant Bitton is grateful for the shuttle service. Without it, it would not be possible for him to continue his career, he said. The same feelings were echoed by several Airmen flying on the shuttle.

"There's no way I would do it. It would cost more than what I make on the weekends," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Hall, a 16-year Air Force Reserve veteran who relies on the shuttle to get him to McChord.

Efforts were made by planners not to create manning overages. As a result, there has been ample room for promotion throughout the wing.

"A lot of the planning [in the 446th Maintenance Group] was done by the superintendents of the two main squadrons - the aircraft maintenance squadron and the maintenance squadron - to identify the slots that people would be moving to and to identify any overages," said Colonel Huguley. "Some of them have already gotten a promotion as a result of their move."

In the handful of career fields facing overages as a result of the relocations, a special manning code allowing for normal career progression was given to those Airmen. Even though there are too many people in their squadron, the Airmen affected by realignment overages will not have their promotion cycles stifled.

"Since there is a 10 percent annual attrition rate, the units that currently have an overage will be back to normal in a year or two. By projecting this, we can continue to promote them at a normal rate." said Master Sgt. Lisa Caron, a manning specialist with the 446th Mission Support Squadron's Military Personnel Flight.

This will come as good news to the Airmen in the 86th Aerial Port Squadron, who will receive the 20 reservists from Portland. Because their unit is already 100 percent manned, the reservists moving here as a result of BRAC will bump their manning up to 120 percent.

Talks between the aerial port commanders began in September, and although the 86th Aerial Port was not obligated to pick up the reservists from Portland, the commander wanted to do so.

"I've been real impressed with their commander's ability to take care of her people. She's making sure that everyone who wants to continue their careers still has a job," said Maj. Tim May, 86th APS commander.

Major May's plan is to start adding a few of the Portland reservists to his squadron every month until the numbers reach 20.

"We'll see what that does," he said. "At some point, we run the risk of stressing our ability to provide our people with meaningful training. It also puts a strain on our management and budget. If we're doing well when we hit 20, we'll certainly add more." (AFRC News Service)