Posted on Feb 17, 2015
Ospreys temporarily head to England for SpecOps group
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From: Air Force Times
The Air Force's special operators are about to stand up their newest wing, but the wing's home, at RAF Mildenhall, England, will be temporary.
The 352nd Special Operations Group at Mildenhall is accepting CV-22 Ospreys, and its base personnel has climbed to more than 1,000, the line between a group and a wing. Soon, the group will become a wing, said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced last month that U.S. Air Force operations at RAF Mildenhall will close as part of the department's European Installation Consolidation process. The special operations group will stay at Mildenhall "for the next several years until we nail down exactly where we're going to move that capability," Heithold told reporters last week at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida.
While U.S. European Command has not made the final decision, Heithold said it is likely the Air Force commandos and aircraft would move to Germany. U.S. Army Special Forces are looking to base in Baumholder, so a logical base for AFSOC could be at the current Air Force facility in Spangdahlem, he said.
"It makes sense to put the air component as reasonably close to your joint partner," Heithold said.
The move will not give up mission capability, but instead is solely to save money,Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told reporters last month during a State of the Air Force briefing at the Pentagon.
"That was just a consolidation of capability," Welsh said. "It will be much more efficient over time. It will pay for itself in a pretty expeditious way. Mildenhall is a base closure because the cost of updating Mildenhall over time, with very old infrastructure that hasn't been maintained well over the last 30 or 40 years, is excessive compared to the combat capability we get from the operations that go on to the base."
U.K. officials are supportive of the move, as they downsize their own defense infrastructure, Welsh said.
"Mildenhall has been a great, great installation for the Air Force for a long time and remains that way today," he said. "But this is all about cost savings and efficiency."
The plan to close Mildenhall comes as another nearby U.S. Air Force installation will see large growth. RAF Lakenheath is already home to two F-15E squadrons and one F-15C/D squadron. The Air Force announced last month that the base will be the first home to its F-35As in Europe, beginning in 2020. These aircraft will be in addition to the existing F-15s at the base.
"There's no current plan to phase out [F-15s]," Welsh said last week in Orlando. "We're going to keep the 'super wing' going."
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/02/17/afsoc-move-raf-mildenhall-closure/23496417/
The Air Force's special operators are about to stand up their newest wing, but the wing's home, at RAF Mildenhall, England, will be temporary.
The 352nd Special Operations Group at Mildenhall is accepting CV-22 Ospreys, and its base personnel has climbed to more than 1,000, the line between a group and a wing. Soon, the group will become a wing, said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced last month that U.S. Air Force operations at RAF Mildenhall will close as part of the department's European Installation Consolidation process. The special operations group will stay at Mildenhall "for the next several years until we nail down exactly where we're going to move that capability," Heithold told reporters last week at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida.
While U.S. European Command has not made the final decision, Heithold said it is likely the Air Force commandos and aircraft would move to Germany. U.S. Army Special Forces are looking to base in Baumholder, so a logical base for AFSOC could be at the current Air Force facility in Spangdahlem, he said.
"It makes sense to put the air component as reasonably close to your joint partner," Heithold said.
The move will not give up mission capability, but instead is solely to save money,Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told reporters last month during a State of the Air Force briefing at the Pentagon.
"That was just a consolidation of capability," Welsh said. "It will be much more efficient over time. It will pay for itself in a pretty expeditious way. Mildenhall is a base closure because the cost of updating Mildenhall over time, with very old infrastructure that hasn't been maintained well over the last 30 or 40 years, is excessive compared to the combat capability we get from the operations that go on to the base."
U.K. officials are supportive of the move, as they downsize their own defense infrastructure, Welsh said.
"Mildenhall has been a great, great installation for the Air Force for a long time and remains that way today," he said. "But this is all about cost savings and efficiency."
The plan to close Mildenhall comes as another nearby U.S. Air Force installation will see large growth. RAF Lakenheath is already home to two F-15E squadrons and one F-15C/D squadron. The Air Force announced last month that the base will be the first home to its F-35As in Europe, beginning in 2020. These aircraft will be in addition to the existing F-15s at the base.
"There's no current plan to phase out [F-15s]," Welsh said last week in Orlando. "We're going to keep the 'super wing' going."
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/02/17/afsoc-move-raf-mildenhall-closure/23496417/
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Air Force
Special Operations Air Force
Posted 10 y ago
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