Offutt, 55th Wing to gain military, civilian positions in 2010

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. James M. Hodgman
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Col. John N.T. Shanahan, 55th Wing commander, announced today proposed force structure realignments affecting Offutt for the next fiscal year. 

The realignment is part of Air Force-wide adjustments which will provide unsurpassed Global Vigilance, Global Reach and Global Power ... to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace - today and in the future, given available resources. 

But what does this mean for Offutt? 

Proposed realignments for Fiscal Year 2010 include contract to civilian conversions in accordance with the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, which resulted in an increase of 20 civilian positions. Total impact to Offutt is an increase of 50 military and 27 civilian positions. 

"The 55th Wing will gain 16 civilian support positions to help commanders at the unit level," said Colonel Shanahan. "The 97th Intelligence Squadron will gain 50 military positions to help bolster our Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capabilities." 

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, also located at Offutt, will gain two military positions and one civilian position to augment Air Force Nuclear Enterprise personnel. The Combat Targeting and Intelligence Group as well as the Air Force Recruiting Service will each increase by one civilian position enabling them to provide better support to unit commanders. Other miscellaneous actions resulted in a decrease of two military and 12 civilian positions. 

"The announcement is great news for Offutt and our partner communities including the wing's geographically separated unit in Arizona," Colonel Shanahan said, "the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, will see an increase of 80 military aircraft maintenance positions." 

Paul Galloway, 55th Force Support Squadron Manpower officer, said the force structure realignments are an example of the Air Force's and Air Combat Command's vigilance in aligning limited manpower resources and adjusting them where they will be best engaged to accomplish the mission. 

"The additional manpower allocated to Offutt and the 55th Wing reflect the national importance of our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions carried out by our dedicated professionals," Mr. Galloway said. "It also speaks well of the community support that has been so generously given over the years." 

Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, said the FSA is an effort to meet the service's expanding mission areas and other services' growing demands to support the Joint fight. 

The announcement includes a summary of military and civilian personnel changes and reassignment of aircraft at Air Force bases for the upcoming fiscal year. It does not include programmatic actions in FY11 and beyond. The FSA also specifies the force structure changes experienced by the Total Force-Air Force active-duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve. Implementation of these actions will occur only after completion of appropriate environmental analyses. 

For more information about the FY10 Force Structure realignment, visit http://www.af.mil.