Balderson, colleagues request C-130H management plan from Air Force

U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers requested that the U.S. Air Force provide them with a long-term management plan for a proposal to reduce its fleet of C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.

Rep. Balderson and his colleagues sent a July 7 letter to U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX), who are spearheading work on the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021.

The lawmakers pointed out that such a fleet reduction would negatively impact the Air Force’s overall combat efficiency, according to their letter.

“We ask that the committee continue to require the Air Force to provide its data-driven reasoning for a smaller C-130 fleet, and to provide a sustainable, long-term fleet management plan,” they wrote. “The hardworking men and women of our ANG [Air National Guard] units deserve consistency.”

Specifically, such a reduction of the fleet within ANG units could jeopardize the mission of the 179th Airlift Wing, a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard stationed at Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base in Mansfield, Ohio, according to Rep. Balderson.

“Cutting back the 179th’s aircraft fleet would deliver a devastating blow to its critical mission and capabilities,” Rep. Balderson said. “Before potentially impacting this unit and the dedicated men and women who serve it, we need answers as to the logic and sustainable strategy behind these decisions.”

Among the five other lawmakers who joined Rep. Balderson in signing the letter were U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Mark Amodei (R-NV), and Cheri Bustos (D-IL).