Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review

World War II movies often contain the joke, “Don’t you know there’s a war going on?” The joke in today’s war against radical Islam is supposed to be that “One percent of Americans are fighting this war, and the rest of America is at the mall.” The World War II joke was sarcasm targeting somebody who wanted special perks when everybody else was sacrificing for the war effort, while today’s phrase is a sick joke, and here is one reason why.

 On Monday, June 8, more than 75 percent of civilian workers at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Okla., went on strike. The 800 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 898 headed for the picket lines after failing to reach a deal with their employer, CSC Applied Technologies. Vance AFB is home to the 71st Flying Training Wing, whose mission is “to train world-class pilots for our Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and our Allies and to prepare AEF warriors to deploy in support of our combatant commanders.”

 On June 15, the base announced that normal flying operations at Vance had been temporarily suspended, and posted the following notice on its Web site:

 “In order to keep pilot production at Vance Air Force Base on schedule for the Air Force, Navy, Marines and United States allies, Vance sent members of three classes of student pilots and their instructor pilots to Randolph Air Force Base and Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, today to resume flying training.”

 When this issue of Crosshairs- Military Matters in Review went to press, Vance’s Web site had posted the following strike update:

 “We continue to place top priority on the care of our people and base, and look forward to resuming our mission safely. While the Air Force remains neutral in the labor dispute between the contractor and the union, this dispute has limited base services and limited our current ability to produce combat aviators for our nation. During the past two weeks, we have been working closely with our chain of command to continue pilot training operations that comply with all applicable laws.”

 The Air Force might be “neutral” in the dispute, but it’s certainly not neutral concerning the strike’s impact upon its mission to train pilots. And what about the impact upon morale of families of the 1 percent who are fighting this war while civilian workers and unions bicker over perks? The situation makes you wonder about tens of thousands of contract employees spread throughout the Defense Department. It’s reminiscent of 1981 when President Ronald Regan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers. Maybe the Defense Department or the president ought to fire CSC if they can find a hole in their contract with the Air Force. Don’t they and the union, and the workers know there’s a war going on?

 This column may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution to Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review by Fred Edwards. Visit http://www.milmat.net for more Crosshairs.