Air base completes fighter jet switch

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) -- An Air National Guard unit based in Fort Wayne has completed its transition to a new type of fighter jets, and its leaders say the unit is ready if activated for combat duty.

The 122nd Fighter Wing is at "operational capability" with A-10 Thunderbolt combat jets -- also known as Warthogs, unit leaders said.

"All personnel are trained and ready to go to combat in the A-10," Capt. Rebecca Metzger, the unit's public affairs officer, told The Journal Gazette for a story Friday (http://bit.ly/Kz2elM).

In 2010, the Air Force replaced the F-16 fighter jets that the unit had flown since the early 1990s with the A-10s, which are used to support ground troops and often attack tanks.

Metzger said the 20 planes went through rigorous inspections, and hundreds of members of the 122nd Fighter Wing have filled vacancies in other A-10 units sent overseas for missions.

"We have not deployed our aircraft. They have been flying for training purposes," Metzger said. The unit is based at Fort Wayne International Airport.

The unit's operational status comes just months after Air Force officials proposed moving the A-10 jets as part of broad military spending cuts. The proposal would, instead, assign the unit larger planes that are used to transport troops and cargo.

The Air Force plan would cut about 150 jobs from the base, which has more than 1,200 workers, including about 300 full-time military personnel and 50 full-time state workers.

But reorganization is uncertain, as governors and members of Congress have opposed many of the changes proposed for Air Guard units.

"We're still an A-10 fighter wing," Metzger said. "We're optimistic about the future."
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Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net