Senators urge Bush to void Pentagon plan

A proposal to end production of a key military aircraft flown out of Harrisburg International Airport and used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to a lobbying campaign to convince President Bush to override the Pentagon.

U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Rick Santorum, R-Pa., have joined 22 senators in calling on Bush to reverse a proposal to end production of the C-130 military transport airplane in 2008 to save $5 billion.

The cuts, part of at least $30 billion in defense reductions aimed at reducing the federal deficit in Bush's fiscal 2006 budget proposal due out next month, would leave the 193rd Special Operations Wing based at HIA flying two 40-year-old aircraft that are showing signs of structural wear and tear.

The 193rd has six newer models, called C-130J, and could receive two replacements for the older C-130E models later this year, though that remains uncertain.

"We strongly believe that this cut is ill advised and untimely given the operational shortfalls facing our military and the threats facing our nation," the senators wrote Bush.

They also said that canceling the multi-year contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. would cost taxpayers millions of dollars because of penalties in the contract.

The 193rd, the most deployed unit in the military, has been flying specially modified versions of the aircraft since the 1960s. Its flying radio and television stations spread propaganda and other information.

"When you're flying aircraft as often as we do and they're 40 years old, they are going to show wear and tear. Eventually those aircraft are going to have to be replaced," said Maj. Eric McKissick of the 193rd.

The C-130 has been a workhorse for the military, transporting troops and equipment for decades, and more than half of the military's fleet is at least 30 years old.

Versions of the aircraft have been used for airdrops, special operations, as gunships and to battle forest fires in the United States. It was also used to deliver relief to tsunami victims in Indonesia and south Asia.

The 911th Air wing near Pittsburgh flies nine C-130s, but none is the J-model.

Pennsylvania National Guard officials and congressional aides said cancellation of the program would almost certainly affect the 193's ability to train and carry out its mission...

Lockheed Martin builds the aircraft in Georgia, but about 120 workers in Johnstown manufacture components worth $15 million in contracts.

"The C-130 is a proven, dependable piece of our national defense capability and it's vital to Pennsylvania's economy," said Charlie Gerow, president of Quantum Communications in Harrisburg.

"We've got jobs at stake here in Pennsylvania," said Gerow, who was hired by Lockheed as part of the public-relations campaign to pressure the Pentagon.

Capt. Cory Angell, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard, said the state does not know how the budget cuts will affect the two aircraft in the pipeline for the 193rd.

"It will depend on what the Air Force wants to do and where do they want to shift the weight as far as what they're going to have resource-wise," he said.

By Brett Lieberman, The Patriot News,  Jan 16, 2005

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