Air Force repair shifts to private contractors

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Sen. Jim Inhofe said he is concerned about a shift in repair work on Air Force planes and weapons to private contractors because it could eventually cost Tinker Air Force Base.

Monday, March 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Sen. Jim Inhofe said he is concerned about a shift in repair work on Air Force planes and weapons to private contractors because it could eventually cost Tinker Air Force Base.

Private contractors are shouldering more of the workload because of the demand from military actions overseas and the closing of Air Force repair depots in Texas and California.

The Air Force informed Congress earlier this year that it might not be able to comply with a law requiring that at least half of its repair work on planes and other weapons be done in its own maintenance centers. One of the three depots is at Tinker.

"Although I have been told that this is a one-time event, a result of increasing demand resulting from the Kosovo operations during the transition of workloads from the closing air logistics centers, I am skeptical," Inhofe told the Daily Oklahoman.

"I have seen too much evidence that the Air Force in particular continues to pursue the outsourcing of depot maintenance on new weapons systems for me to believe that it does not envision the eventual collapse of the public depots."

The Air Force has been increasingly relying on private contractors to do repairs, particularly on new planes. Inhofe said the breaching of the 50-50 law is symbolically significant.

The workload splits are measured in dollars; and though the temporary contracts could add a small amount -- $135 million -- to the $3 billion paid to the Air Force. Others are also skeptical, including the General Accounting Office, Congress' auditing arm.

David Warren, director of defense management issues, said that unless the Pentagon makes some key decisions about placing new repair work in Air Force depots, it will face "significant challenges" in complying with the 50-50 law over the next few years.

Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters sought to assure Inhofe and other members of the Armed Services subcommittee last week that he was committed to keeping half of the repair work in Air Force depots.

Peters also assured committee members that he had begun a process of examining how work will be assigned to Tinker and the two other air logistics centers.

Tinker's depot, one of the largest employers in Oklahoma, does not appear to be threatened, however. Along with Lockheed Martin, Tinker last year won a major contract to do some of the engine repair work formerly done at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio.

National security arguments have been made by Inhofe and others involved with the issue, saying that the government must preserve its own industrial base not only because of the expertise but because it is immune from certain pressures that affect private industries.

According to the Air Force, repairs done by the private sector have risen from 36 percent in 1991 to 50 percent this year.