The alternative plan that Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve officials have been working with USAF would temporarily rather than permanently transfer some reserve component C-130s to the active force, Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, ANG director, told the House Armed Services readiness panel Tuesday. Numerous lawmakers and state officials had complained when the original plan came to light last month. Wyatt said the new arrangement “complies with the President’s budget as far as the savings generated.” He added that there would be no transfer of reserve personnel. Under the new plan, when legacy C-130—E and H model—training needs drop as the service acquires more new J models, “those tails that have been loaned by the states will be returned back to those states,” explained Wyatt, adding that the return would occur over time, “about a four- to five-year period at the longest.”
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.