COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A Pentagon budget plan to take Army National Guard Apache attack helicopters from America’s citizen-soldiers doesn’t sit well with the South Carolina general who commanded an Apache battalion and flew the fearsome choppers for 1,500 hours during his 37-year career.
“It could be problematic for the U.S. Army as a whole. You are losing upward of 20 years of experience that we, the nation, need,” said Maj. Gen. Les Eisner, who retired from his post as the state’s No. 2 military commander on March 5.
The South Carolina AH-64’s have deployed to Bosnia, Kuwait, and twice to Iraq. The 60-year-old former general said the unit has proven itself in battle, and has done it as a far cheaper alternative than full-time units in the active duty Army.
The move would strip about 200 choppers from National Guard units in eight states: South and North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Texas. Eisner said the decision also would affect logistic hubs for the aircraft in California, Connecticut, Missouri and Mississippi.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., has put forward a bill to block the transfer of the AH-64s, and he is also seeking a commission to study the Army changes. The measure has gained 120 co-sponsors.
“This aviation restructuring plan would have a significantly negative impact on Army National Guard aviation and the total Army. The National Guard is the primary combat reserve for the Army and should mirror the active duty force,” Wilson said in a statement.
South Carolina’s 24 Apaches are based at McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Eastover. North Carolina also has 24, based near Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The N.C. Guard has deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq since the terrorist strikes of 9/11.
“If they take all of those assets and only put them in the active Army, essentially, they have cleaned their cupboard out. And if they find themselves in a bind, they can’t go back to the National Guard and say, ’Hey, I need an Apache instructor pilot,’ because the cupboard will be bare,” Eisner said.
The Army proposed the move several weeks ago as part of its belt-tightening budget. It would give the Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in place of the combat-ready Apaches, arguing the dual-rotor transports are more appropriate to states’ disaster response and homeland defense missions.
Eisner says the losing the Apaches will translate into the loss of state jobs. The unit’s pilots, maintainers and support crews add up to more than 150 Guardsmen and women, Eisner said, who might not easily be transferred to other positions.
The single-rotor choppers are considered the most lethal in the Army’s flying arsenal and resemble flying locusts. Crewed by a pilot and co-pilot who also acts as a gunner, the airship can fly in day or night conditions. It is armed with Hellfire missiles, which use precision guidance systems to destroy targets such as tanks or enemy radar systems.
Eisner said the theory behind the Guard, considered a “reserve” or backup to the active duty forces, has been proven when the South Carolina unit was called out twice to serve in Iraq, and when they provided instructor pilots to tutor active duty Apache pilots.
They even flew as the guardian forces watching over the U.S. troops when the last units pulled out of Iraq in 2011.
“We’ve mobilized, we’ve deployed, we’ve been successful, and we’ve done it as a cheaper cost,” Eisner said, pointing out that many Guard members have full-time civilian jobs and train on the weekends, so no large support bases, schools, day-care units or housing are needed for them.
Eisner pointed out that ultimately, the decision is up to Congress.
“Congress has the power of the purse and Congress ultimately makes the decision. If they act prudently, we are able to keep them in the reserve,” Eisner said. “We are a significant savings to taxpayers.”
Guard units traditionally argue that they can keep some of the nation’s most experienced military professionals on call, instead of paying them full-time to keep them in the military.
The general said he fears that stripping the combat aviation forces from the Guard is only the first step in reducing its combat capabilities. The Guard has fought for years to drop the “weekend warrior” moniker and prove themselves when they are called up for active duty missions.
“If they take the AH-64, what’s next?” Eisner said, noting that the Guard also has artillery and tank units that are key to the Pentagon’s backup forces.
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