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Panetta’s Barksdale visit includes GSC briefing

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will visit Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Friday for a briefing on nuclear deterrent capabilities, the Pentagon said.

In addition to the briefing by the Air Force Global Strike Command, Panetta will thank airmen for “their efforts in operating, maintaining, and supporting the global strike mission.”

“A key part of our strategy is to maintain a bomber force that can penetrate enemy air defenses,” said Carl Woog, an assistant press secretary at the Defense Department. “As we look to the future, this mission and Barksdale will remain essential.”

Panetta also will host a town hall meeting where he will present medals to airmen for their service in Afghanistan and other overseas locations.

Panetta’s visit comes as defense officials outline plans to cut the growth in military spending to save $487 billion over 10 years. Defense officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that all 50 states will be affected.

Barksdale could lose some A-10 combat planes at the 47th Fighter Squadron, according to a recent Air Force report.

“Each decision needs to be judged on the basis of the overall strategy that it supports, recognizing that unwinding any one piece puts our whole package in jeopardy,” Panetta said in his testimony. “The bottom line is that I believe there is little room for modification to preserve the force and capabilities we believe are needed to protect the country and fulfill assigned missions. “

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., will join Panetta at Barksdale for the awards ceremony and will go to Fort Polk on Saturday.

Retired Brig. Gen. Peyton Cole, a former 2nd Bomb Wing commander who grew up in the shadow of Barksdale as the son of a service member, remembers visits to the base by secretaries of the Air Force and members of the chiefs of staff, but not Cabinet-level officials.

“This is the first visit there by a secretary of Defense that I can remember,” he said.

Barksdale has been home to 8th Air Force since 1975.

It also has been operational home of Air Force Global Strike Command since its creation in 2009. The command controls all of the Air Force’s nuclear missions and three major weapons systems — the B-2 and B-52 bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles — at five domestic bases.

Together, they employ roughly 20,000 people in three missile wings and three bomb wings.

Louisiana lawmakers have vowed to fight the proposal to cut A-10s at Barksdale.

Landrieu and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., recently wrote to Panetta urging him not to cut programs at Barksdale or Fort Polk. They said the A-10 was an effective weapon in the 1991 Gulf War and touted its critical role at Barksdale.

Rep. John Fleming, R-La., a member of the Armed Services Committee, will host a town hall meeting Feb. 21 in Bossier City to discuss military issues and other matters. He said he won’t be at Barksdale because of votes in Washington.

Fleming said he hopes Panetta will address recent reports that the administration has directed defense officials to study the reduction of the nation’s deployed nuclear weapons by up to 80 percent.

“If true, such a drastic and irresponsible cut to our nation’s strategic forces will be met with strong resistance from the Congress and from the nation,” he said. “I ask that the secretary make clear on his visit what the intentions of this administration are and whether he feels such reductions are necessary.”

The Air Force hopes to save money in fiscal 2013 by retiring or reclassifying aircraft from seven squadrons, including five A-10 squadrons, one F-16 squadron and one F-15 training squadron. Under the plan, 21 A-10s at Barksdale would be retired and three others at the base would be transferred.

Cole said the decision to retire the A-10 “is dumber than dirt.”

The combat plane was slated for retirement before the Gulf War but was spared, he said, delivering a stellar performance and becoming the premier tank-buster supporting troops on the ground.