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Fewer aircraft, more aircrew rotations overseas, says ANG director

  • Published
  • By Army Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy
  • National Guard Bureau
ARLINGTON, Va. --  With a cut in the number of C-27 Joint Cargo Aircraft it is to receive, the Air National Guard may see heavier rotations of air crews that fly the aircraft, said Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard.

Originally slated to receive 78 aircraft, the Air Guard will now get 38 with about half that number designated for duty overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan, said Wyatt.

"The concept of employment is that a rather large percentage of the 38 will be employed to theatre," said the general.

And because the operational requirements did not drop with the number of aircraft the Air Guard is to receive, that means more crews rotating through overseas duty.

"(With 78 aircraft it) allows you to have a lower crew ratio because you have more aircraft to rotate through theatre and you have more crews," said Wyatt.

Initially, Air Guard officials planned on having two crews assigned to each aircraft. With fewer aircraft, that means that four crews will be assigned to each aircraft. Those crews, however, still have training requirements to meet. With fewer aircraft available, that means that crews from other aircrafts may get bumped up in the overseas rotations.

Additionally, that in turn means higher flying hours on individual aircraft in order to keep up with operational and training requirements. That may lead to higher maintenance requirements as well.

"Because you're going to be required to fly more hours, we're probably going to have to look at increasing the amount of maintenance," said Wyatt.

Designated a joint aircraft to be used by both the Army and Air Force, the first aircrews are currently undergoing training. However, the Army has recently changed gears on utilizing the aircraft and in the near future it will be flown only by the Air Force, said Wyatt.

The current allocation of 38 was proposed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the fiscal year 2010 budget proposal now before Congress.