U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) were critical of support for Fort Bragg’s airborne forces and the impact of a military drawdown in addresses delivered earlier this week.
Tillis delivered a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday detailing how the Pentagon has failed to meet Army Paratrooper training requirements at Fort Bragg after announcing that it would dismantle the 440th Airlift Wing at Pope Airfield earlier this year.
“This is about fulfilling the Army’s requirements,” Tillis said. “This is about having their back. This is about making sure that the men and women who will be asked at a moment’s notice to assemble on the Green Ramp at Pope Army Airfield and to go wherever they must to defend freedom are at their highest state of readiness. The performance to this point suggests that the Air Force is failing its customer service commitment for the Army.”
Ellmers, meanwhile, took to the House floor on Monday to call for support for U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson’s (R-NY) Protecting Our Security Through Utilizing Right-Sized End Strength (POSTURE) Act, H.R. 4534, which would prevent a planned drawdown of military forces.
“While the Air Force has promised they would continue to provide necessary airlift support to Fort Bragg, the Air Force is already falling well short of this promise,” Ellmers said. “Fort Bragg aims to complete 10,000 jumps a month to prepare troops for combat but the Air Force’s decision to prematurely hollow out this wing has prevented them from meeting this jump goal. Last month, only 6,100 paratroopers jumped from Air Force planes.”
Lack of federal support has taken a toll on military readiness and training at Fort Bragg as a consequence of the military drawdown, Ellmers said.
“Russia has become increasingly aggressive and China’s military presence continues to grow in Southeast Asia — all the while our president insists on drawing down our military and cutting its funding,” Ellmers said. “This is not the time to be cutting our military – this is the time to strengthen it.”