The KC-46 aerial refueling tanker program is one of the Air Force’s top priorities and a matter of huge importance here in Tampa, where a group of political and civic leaders is working to bring some of the aircraft to MacDill Air Force Base.
The new aerial refueling tankers are most likely protected from automatic cuts that would be instituted March 1 if Congress fails to solve the debt crisis. But that doesn’t mean the program isn’t facing budgetary challenges.
In order to house the new planes, which are bigger than the current KC-135 tankers, bases will need a total of more than $4 billion in new construction over a 13-year period, according to a December 2011 Department of Defense report.
But unlike the $40 billion for the 414 jets, the construction money has yet to be allocated. The Air Force isn’t planning to ask for the funds until fiscal 2014, according to the report.
Which means it would be subject to the automatic, across-the-board cuts that would be instituted under sequestration.
The KC-46 program already has been delayed. The Air Force was supposed to whittle a list of candidate bases to about 10 over the summer, but with the fiscal kerfuffle, that didn’t happen. Air Force officials say they are still on schedule to make a final decision by the end of this year.
U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, and C.W. “Bill” Young, an Indian Shores Republican, have both expressed confidence that the new tanker contract with Boeing is sacrosanct.
But MacDill boosters “should be very concerned” about the required construction, according to Dan Stohr, a spokesman for the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group representing contractors.
“Military construction could be a very real problem,” said Stohr.
Air Force officials say they won’t really know what, if any, impact sequestration would have on the needed construction until after the basing decisions are made. The Air Force hasn’t even conducted site visits yet.
That said, construction needs to take place.
“… the KC-46 has basic infrastructure requirements to effectively operate on any Air Force base,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an email. “This includes fuels hydrants and storage, hangar spaces, aircraft ramp spaces, squadron operations and aircraft maintenance facilities, pilot training facilities, and communications infrastructure.”
MacDill officials would not comment on whether the base, as it is now configured, can handle the new tankers. There are now 16 Stratotankers on base, flown by the 6th Air Mobility Wing and the 927th Air Refueling Wing.
Castor, like the Air Force, thinks it is too early to say how all this will play out, according to her spokeswoman Ellen Gedalius.
This whole issue, of course, depends on whether Congress and the White House can keep from pulling a Wile E. Coyote on March 1 — going over the fiscal cliff, feet furiously pumping on the way down.
But for those who support MacDill, and the billions of dollars it pumps into the local economy, it’s something to ruminate on while watching the political Roadrunner show.
Meep Meep.
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For those of you who don’t want to wait until March, here’s something you can do over the weekend.
The 4th Annual Tampa Bay Frogman Swim takes place Sunday.
The 5K swim, which starts at Gandy Beach in St. Petersburg and finishes at Picnic Island in Tampa, raises money for the Navy SEAL Foundation. The foundation provides support services for the families of the Navy special warfare community, including educational programs and legacy activities. It is one of the nation’s highest rated charities.
The Tampa Bay Frogman Swim started in 2010 as an impromptu event to raise money for Lt. Dan Cnossen, a SEAL who lost both legs to an IED explosion in Afghanistan.
That first swim attracted 38 participants who braved frigid waters to raise $33,000 for Cnossen and his family.
Last year, the swim raised more than $150,000. This year, more than 150 swimmers have registered and the organization hopes to raise more than $200,000, according to Kurt Ott, assistant race director. Each swimmer will have an individual kayak escort.
The first of six waves leaves from Gandy Beach at 8:20 a.m.
The opening ceremony will honor Thomas C. Fouke, David J. Warsen, Patrick D. Feeks, Dion R. Roberts, Mathew G. Kantor, Kevin R. Ebbert and Nicolas D. Checque, active-duty SEALs who were killed in action or training last year, as well as Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, former SEALs who were killed during the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
While registration for the event is closed and volunteer slots all taken, donations are always needed. Ott said he expects more than 300 spectators Sunday.
For more information, or to make a donation, go to www.tampabayfrogman.com.
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The Pentagon announced the deaths of three troops in the past two weeks.
Pfc. Markie T. Sims, 20, of Citra, Fla., died Dec. 29 in Panjwal, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 38th Engineer Company, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, under control of the 7th Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Sgt. Enrique Mondragon, 23, of The Colony, Texas, died Dec. 24, in Baraki Barak, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by small-arms fire while on dismounted patrol. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany.
Cmdr. Job W. Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pa., died Dec. 22 of a non-combat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Price was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit in Virginia Beach, Va. This incident is under investigation.
There have now been 2,158 U.S. troop deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation’s longest war.