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Ohio ranks second in nation in overall jobs increase

Ohio to gain over 300 Air Force jobs

Over 300 jobs coming to WPAFB after restructuring

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 12:10 PM Friday, November 4, 2011

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — Ohio’s military facilities will show a net gain of 2 percent in jobs during the next two years despite the Air Force’s system-wide reduction of civilian employment, according to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

Led by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which expects a net gain of 363 positions in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the state ranked second in the nation in the overall number of jobs it will gain, Brown spokeswoman Lauren Kulik said Thursday.

She based that on information the Air Force shared Wednesday with members of Congress as it unveiled a plan to eliminate thousands of civilian jobs nationwide to cut expenses. The plan focuses on reducing management layers and centralizing program administration.

The Air Force declined on Thursday to provide any details about the expected losses or gains at military facilities in other states. It told Brown’s office that Wright-Patterson will gain 364 positions against a current Air Force civilian work force of 12,728 at the base, while an Air Force legal operations field office in Kettering will lose a claims agent position out of current civilian employment there of 28.

Whether bases and states will gain or lose personnel depends on whether they host programs with skill mixes that match the Air Force’s long-term priorities.

Wright-Patterson will benefit because of plans for priority hiring in acquisition, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance specialties. Still, the base will be eliminating jobs in public affairs, security forces, civil engineering, the base historian office, vehicle support and protocol, officials said.

The Air Force Materiel Command, headquartered at Wright-Patterson, expects to lose a total of about 2,100 positions across its nine bases as the command reduces its 12 centers to five and the Air Force streamlines base support functions.

The job cuts are part of an early round of cost-cutting as Congress presses for reductions in defense and non-defense spending, requiring the Pentagon to search for efficiencies. The Air Force said it is eliminating about 9,000 positions in management, staff and support areas nationwide so that it can add 5,900 jobs in the acquisition, nuclear weapons, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance areas. Beyond that net loss of 3,100 jobs, the Air Force said it must identify an additional 4,500 civilian positions to be eliminated.

The Air Force has offered incentives for early retirement and voluntary departures.

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