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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
0289. New Jersey Air Guard goes all out
by Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
OPERATION NOBLE EAGLE (AFPN) -- Last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attack turned
the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing upside down, the wing
commander said.
"Typically, a Guard unit is 30 percent full-timers and 70 percent
traditional guardsmen," said Col. Mike Cosby. "As a result of [Sept. 11]
and the partial mobilization by the president, about 65 percent of our
people are full time.
"A Guard unit typically works about nine hours a day," Cosby said. "Our
unit was a little atypical in that we ran two shifts, which meant we worked
from about 6 in the morning until about 10 or 11 at night. Now, since
[Sept. 11], we're working 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
The wing's missions are also "significantly different," he said.
"We used to train here in the United States," Cosby said. "We would go out
and fly air-to-air missions or drop bombs on our bombing range. Now, we're
actually flying live...combat air patrols over our own continental United
States."
Cosby said 177th FW fighters last flew combat air patrols as part of
Operation Southern Watch in October 2000.
"That's where we flew the exact same mission, combat air patrols, but in
this case, it was over Iraq," he said. "Then to imagine less than a year
later you're doing the exact same mission over your own country is kind of a
sobering thought."
Since Sept. 11, 177th FW pilots have patrolled the northeast corridor from
New York City to Washington as part of Operation Noble Eagle. They have
flown more than 825 combat air patrols totaling more than 3,100 flying
hours, doubling the number of hours they had normally fly in the same time
frame.
"Unlike normal deployments where we all pack up and we all go someplace
overseas, isolate ourselves and focus strictly on the war or the mission at
hand, now members of my unit have to go home (at the end of their shift),"
Cosby said. "They have to make dinner for the kids, do homework, go to the
basketball or baseball game, fix the car, clean the gutters and paint the
house and cut the lawn. There are a lot more issues they're involved with
here because we're 'deployed at home station.'"
The majority of the guardsmen's employers, probably more than 95 percent,
fully support their employees and the Guard mission, Cosby said. Some
supplement employees' salaries if they have taken a significant cut because
they are now on active duty. Some employers continue to provide health care
and insurance for not only the employee but also the employee's family, he
said.
In some cases, however, the officials had to educate employers on the laws
associated with the president's partial mobilization.
"The Air National Guard hasn't been partially mobilized since Vietnam,"
Cosby said. "Some employers are not sure what the rules, responsibilities
and obligations are under U.S. Title 10. Once we explained the rules of a
partial mobilization and the law that governs it, we've haven't had any
problem."
The Guard took a proactive stance by holding press conferences, explaining
the rules on television and passing out flyers, he said. New Jersey also
has a very active Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program headed
by a retired general that helps explain the situation to employers, he said.
By law, a partial mobilization can last up to two years.
"Our orders are cut year to year," Cosby said. "I can't tell you when
(Operation) Noble Eagle is going to end. I can't tell you when our partial
mobilization is going to end. I can't tell the families or the employers
when it's going to end, either."
But based on the wing's re-enlistment rates, guardsmen must agree with their
commander's view that there is no "higher calling, especially for a citizen
soldier, than to defend your own country."
"Reup rates (are) up almost 90 percent," Cosby said. "People are proud of
the job that they do and they're proud to be associated with a first-class
organization."
The wing's "mission-capable rate" on its circa 1983- and 1984-vintage F-16
Fighting Falcon aircraft is also above 90 percent, Cosby said. Normally, it
runs about 70 to 75 percent.
"We're flying airplanes more, so they get more maintenance," he said. "We
have higher priority on parts than we did before because we're in a combat
operation. So, there are a lot of things that contribute to that
(mission-capable rate), but the bottom line is the young kid that's bending
the wrench and making it happen out on the flightline."
The high operations tempo is taking its toll, Cosby said.
"Are we getting tired? Yes," he said. "The tempo's up significantly.
We've doubled our flying hours. How long can we do this? As long as the
president asks us to do it."
0291. Scientist, engineer recruiting vital to transformation mission
by Tech. Sgt. Scott Elliott
Air
