State Will Lose 902 Jobs in Air Force Realignment

WASHINGTON —  The Air Force announced Thursday that California will lose 902 full-time military and civilian jobs within the next year after a nationwide realignment of personnel and warfare systems.

The changes, which affect operations at eight of the 14 Air Force bases in California, will add 259 positions to Los Angeles Air Force Base by expanding the workload of the space and missile center there.

The fallout from Thursday’s announcement is separate from the ongoing deliberations of an independent federal commission, which has targeted 15 California military facilities plus more than a dozen smaller commands for possible closing.

“All of these changes not only impact the individuals involved, they impact the entire state’s economy,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “I think enough is enough.”

Military officials said California was hardest hit by the announcement because the state has more Air Force installations and personnel than any state.

Air Force bases in 42 states are affected. Some states benefited from the realignment. Texas, where 12 bases are to make changes, will have a net increase of 269 active duty jobs and 777 reserve duty jobs.

Air Force officials said the changes are being made in response to Pentagon budget cuts and base closings and realignments under way. The dozens of changes in war-fighting units include a first-ever shift of B-1b and B-52 heavy bombers to reserve units in Georgia, Kansas and Louisiana. The entire fleet of B-1b bombers, the most advanced heavy bomber operating in the Air Force, has always been exclusively part of the active duty Air Force.

The Air Force bases affected in California are Beale, Los Angeles, March, McClellan, Norton, Travis and Vandenberg. Also impacted is Channel Island Air National Guard Station.

McClellan in Sacramento, which may be closed by the federal commission, is slated to lose 478 military jobs. Also hard hit is Norton Air Force Base outside San Bernardino, which will lose 322 military positions. Norton is home to a Peacekeeper missile railroad project and small intercontinental ballistic missile programs that were killed by Congress.