Cuts hit Keesler AFB

The proposed 2013 military budget designed to save the Air Force $8.7 billion over five years will eliminate hundreds of fighters, cargo planes, surveillance drones and surveillance planes from bases nationwide, according to details released Friday. Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., best known for its electronics training and home of the 403rd Reserve Wing, will lose 10 C-130Js in fiscal year 2014, half its total. The wing transports personnel and equipment and was a major player in combat operations in Southwest Asia. Another Mississippi base, Key Field Air National Guard in Meridian, will lose six C-27J in FY13 and one RC-26 in FY14. They'll be replaced by between nine and 11 MC-12s in FY14. Also of interest to the Gulf Coast region is the FY13 retirement of 18 Block 30 Global Hawks stationed at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Fuselage work on Global Hawks is done in Moss Point, Miss. The force structure changes also affirms the Air Force's commitment to the F-35. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the joint training center. (Source: Tcp, 02/03/12) Details