Sequester could impact the 122nd Fighter Wing

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Many military bases are waiting on lawmakers to make a deal on a federal budget. If there's no deal by Friday, the Defense Department will have to make billions of dollars in cuts, including at the 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne.

See also | How the sequester will affect Indiana

Overall, 800,000 civilian employees in the military will also be furloughed for nearly a month as the Pentagon's way of cutting $46 billion for this year if no deal is reached.

"It's going to impact upwards to 200 of our full time technicians, just like myself, that wear the military uniform day in, day out out here," said Colonel David Augustine, 122nd Fighter Wing Commander.

More than half of the full time force at the 122nd Fighter Wing could be furloughed one day a week. Col. Augustine said the furlough will begin at the end of April and go through the end of September. In all, that averages out to be nearly a month's pay that workers will go without.

"We live in the community. We spend our money in the community, and certainly, if we lose a month of our pay, each one of us from now on until the end of September. It's certainly going to impact our ability to do things out there," he said.

The outcome of the sequester will also impact training at the Air National Guard Base in Fort Wayne. Col. Augustine said 18 percent of flying hours would go away, which is a significant blow to their abilities to put up their A-10's in the air. He said those flying hours help and train pilots to send these aircrafts overseas to fight our nation's wars.

"We have high hopes," he said. "What will happen, we certainly don't know."

The White House has released new state-by-state reports on the impacts of the sequester. To see Indiana's impact, click here . For Ohio's impact, click here . To see a broader view of the sequester impact, click here .