Air Force budget cuts will cost Creech jobs

A cost-cutting plan to dissolve the U.S. Joint Forces Command this year will affect about three dozen Creech Air Force Base personnel who work at the base's Center for Excellence for remotely piloted aircraft, command officials said Wednesday.

Army Gen. Ray Odierno made the announcement in Virginia, where most of the command's job losses will occur.

"We understand that there will be an impact on our personnel, and we are working to ensure they have the best possible transition support available," he said in Suffolk, Va.

The bulk of the command's 6,000 military and civilian personnel work in southeast Virginia where 2,300 jobs will be lost, he said.

But Joint Command employees in Nevada and Florida will lose their jobs or be transferred as the command is eliminated over the coming year.

"The conclusion that's been made is you don't need a four-star command to do these things any more," Odierno said. "These things are still critical, but we certainly can do them in a more efficient, effective way."

The Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence was established in 2005 at Creech, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It was then called Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Field.

The center provides services for the development and integration of remotely piloted aircraft such as Predators, Reapers and Ravens.

The center also hones techniques and training for pilots and sensor operators who control the aircraft from ground stations located sometimes thousands of miles from battlefields.

Kathleen Jabs, public affairs director for the U.S. Joint Forces Command, said the Center of Excellence at Creech employs roughly 30 military personnel, about 24 contractors and three civilians.

Odierno said the center "which is getting ready to sunset ... that's going to be eliminated, about 34 positions, total."

Another 25 to 30 percent of the command's work force in Tampa, Fla., will also be eliminated, according to The Associated Press.

The command's mission is to train troops from all services to work together for specific missions.

On Jan. 31, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey announced that the commander of the Center of Excellence at Creech, Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey N. Colt, will become the next deputy commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The Pentagon ordered the elimination of the U.S. Joint Forces Command as part of budget cuts. The command has a budget of just under $1 billion, and its closure is expected to save about $430 million a year as many of its elements are reassigned.

The command's elimination is expected to be completed by the end of August, although some personnel reassignments won't be completed until 2012.

"The changes are significant, but we will maintain the most critical functions that I believe are necessary for us to move forward," Odierno said. "This is a departure from past organizational design, and I hope it will make us more effective and more efficient in meeting our joint requirements."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.