Sliding Right on F-22 Hangars, Guam ISR:

The Air Force decision to slash 32 percent from its military construction funding in the Fiscal 2009 budget request has led to a “very puzzling disconnect,” says Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Tex.). He cited the service’s request for additional F-22s, C-17s, and other aircraft, questioning why the “infrastructure to support these new airplanes won’t be available until well after the arrival of these important aviation assets.” Responding to Ortiz and others with similar questions at the Feb. 28 House Armed Services readiness panel hearing, the Air Force’s logistics, infrastructure, and environment chief, William Anderson, acknowledged that demands on resources forced the service “to make some very tough choices,” however, he maintained that the reduction in Milcon presents a “manageable risk.” Specifically on the ongoing F-22 beddown in Alaska, Anderson said: “We are delaying the construction of new facilities that can house these aircraft. … That doesn’t mean that they will be sitting out in the snow,” because they can use the hangars of the F-15s they are displacing. However, having said that, he admitted that doing so would mean having to do “work-arounds” to accommodate the new stealthy aircraft. He added, “It is going to be harder for the [maintenance] people.” And, said Anderson, the “significant ISR and strike Milcon” planned for Andersen AFB, Guam, to house a permanent unmanned aerial vehicle force “has slid to the right, farther out” because of the “hard choices” made on “the whole realm of all Air Force projects.”