Fight or no flight

To the average Wayne County resident, the sight of an F-15E Strike Eagle ripping through the clouds Aug. 18 likely seemed routine.

As far as they knew, it was just another training sortie.

They see it every day.

They had no way of knowing a United States senator was in the cockpit — or that his trip to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base that day was about far more than an opportunity to take to the skies with a fighter pilot as the military’s thank you for his advocacy on everything from working conditions to job security.

Sen. Ted Budd knew something then that made the timing of his visit curious — something that could impact the very face, and mission, of the Goldsboro installation.

And as you read this, he is continuing the fight against a recommendation buried in the Department of Defense’s 2024 budget that has the potential to spell disaster for the community that has housed the 4^thFighter Wing since 1957.

Should the Air Force get an OK from lawmakers, the branch would begin to cut its F-15E fleet next year — a move that would, by the end of 2028, leave just 99 Strike Eagles in an inventory that currently boasts 218.

And while AF officials said no additional details would be disclosed until after Congress and President Joe Biden act on the recommendation, if more than 100 F-15Es indeed end up on the chopping block, those jets would have to come from somewhere.

The reality is, there aren’t that many Strikes Eagle bases to choose from.

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To the average American, the two-hour testimony delivered by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown Jr. before the Senate Armed Services Committee July 11 likely seemed ordinary.

As far as they knew, it was just another hearing.

But in between his praise of airman and the airpower they deliver and questions about everything from China to Ukraine, Brown was asked by Budd about plans spelled out in the DOD’s “Report on Force Structure Changes for the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Budget” — specifically, the proposed retirement of 119 F-15Es.

He told the senator the decision was made “to balance capability and capacity” — that retiring the least advanced Strike Eagles in the Air Force’s inventory while adding additional F-35 Lighting IIs and F-15EXs would help accomplish that goal.

“Prioritizing modernization efforts to keep pace with near-peer competitors requires difficult tradeoffs with existing inventories and programs,” Brown said. “The Air Force determined the best mix for the fighter fleet calls for maintaining an F-15E fleet of 99 aircraft … and shifting resources to maximize procurement of newer fighters and capabilities.”

Budd pushed back.

With new radars and an “electronic warfare overhaul” — Strike Eagles are currently being equipped with a new electronic warfare suite called the “Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System” — the nation’s F-15Es remain “the most advanced fourth-generation fighters in the world,” the senator said, adding they have “years of service left.”

But the Air Force believes backfilling the fleet with more than 100 F-15EXs — a two-seat fighter with a stronger airframe and 28-percent larger payload than the Strike Eagle — is the most prudent path forward.

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A dual-role, all-weather fighter designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, the F-15E has been involved in every major military operation since it was designated fit for combat by the Air Force — from Operation Desert Storm to the Global War on Terror.

The first production model of the aircraft was delivered to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, in April 1988 and eight months later, Seymour Johnson received its first Strike Eagle.

The following fall, the Air Force made the 4^th Fighter Wing’s 336^th Fighter Squadron its first operational F-15E unit in advance of an August 1990 deployment to Southwest Asia in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

Seymour Johnson officially transitioned from the F-4 to the F-15E in July 1991, making the 4^th FW the Air Force’s first operational Strike Eagle wing.

And more “firsts” would come.

In 1994, from the cockpit of an F-15E, Jeannie Leavitt became the Air Force’s first female fighter pilot. Nearly 20 years later, Leavitt would become the 4^th FW’s first female commander.

And the Strike Eagle has made history countless times during its 35 years in the nation’s arsenal.

Seymour Johnson aircrews provided protection for the East Coast after the 9/11 attacks, have escorted NASA space shuttles, and performed flyovers during the funerals of several U.S. presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.

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Both the House of Representatives and Senate have already passed versions of the National Defense Authorization Act.

But only one of the chambers — thanks to Budd — stipulates that the Air Force’s recommendation to cut F-15Es is no longer a consideration.

Before the appropriations bill makes it to Biden’s desk, the two sides will have to come to an agreement.

And time is running out.

The House’s current version does not prohibit the Air Force from moving forward with divestment of Strike Eagles, but would require the Secretary of the Air Force to provide details about each aircraft on the chopping block — its age, duty station, and capabilities.

The measure also stipulates that no jet could be retired without the Secretary first spelling out “a description of the actions the Secretary intends to carry out … to modify or replace the missions and capabilities of any units and military installations affected by such divestments.”

Budd, however, demanded the fleet be left alone altogether.

The North Carolina senator understands the impact the loss of more than half of the Air Force’s Strike Eagles could have on Seymour Johnson — and, by extension, Goldsboro and Wayne County.

So, he added an amendment to the Senate’s version of the bill before it was passed.

“None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for any of fiscal years 2024 through 2029 may be obligated or expended to divest any F-15E aircraft,” it reads.

And he made it clear that protecting the Strike Eagle fleet was paramount to protecting SJAFB itself.

“In order to be a strong nation, we need a strong military. The Senate’s FY 2024 NDAA provides significant support to North Carolina’s service members, their families, and our military installations,” Budd said. “At the same time, it saves F-15E fighters from divestment by the Air Force, which not only bolsters North Carolina’s Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, but maintains one of our country’s most reliable fighter aircraft for the remainder of this decade.”

Just what compromise the two chambers reach on the matter is yet to be determined, but in order to prevent a government shutdown, a decision would have to be made by Sept. 30.

The Biden Administration would also have to sign off on the measure.