The Air Force announced force structure plans to retire, not acquire or transfer 191 Air National Guard aircraft and add 65 aircraft to the Air National Guard fleet.

The changes announced Friday will impact Air Guard units in 27 states and territories over the next few years, according to Pentagon officials.

The Air National Guard changes includes retiring four C-27J aircraft at the 179th Airlift Wing at the Mansfield Air Guard Base at Lahm Airport.

The mission supports 350 full-time jobs and 1,000 part-time jobs.

 The other affected states are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The manpower realignment plan built by the Reserve Component will significantly affect additional units in all 54 states and territories. We will be able to provide manpower adjustments by installation and state in the coming weeks."

Through the Air Force’s proposed force structure realignment plan, the Air Force plans to retire 286 aircraft as part of the President’s new defense strategy and the Budget Control Act’s requirements to cut $487 billion from the defense budget over the next 10 years. The Air Force’s share is about $50 billion.

“Gen. Schwartz has said that the Air Force is going to get smaller, and all of the components, Active, Guard and Reserve, are going to get smaller. It’s now becoming a reality,” said Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, Air National Guard director.

 “The Air National Guard has been here before,” Wyatt added. “We need to continue to work with our active duty and Reserve counterparts to ensure we have the best Air Force possible. America’s security depends upon us getting this force mix correct.”  

 “We participated in the Air Force corporate process along with the Air Force Reserves to find efficiencies and mitigate effects of reductions,” Wyatt said. “The experience and capabilities of our personnel are at its highest levels due to being an operational reserve fighting alongside active duty since Desert Storm. We need to maintain this capability in order to meet any future contingencies.”  

 The Air Force is scheduled to announce manpower changes caused by these structure changes in the next few weeks. 

In order for the planned reductions to take effect, they must be approved by Congress and signed into law by the President.

   “Although the associated manpower changes are not available, the Air National Guard is putting together programs to retain as many Airmen as possible,” Wyatt added. “We need to continue to adapt to meet today’s mission, while looking ahead at tomorrow’s challenges.”