The U.S. Air Force announced Wednesday that it is consolidating management function from 12 different centers. There will be 5 in total and two of those will be located at Wright Patterson Force Base. This comes as the Air Force faces budget cuts and they say it is an effort to improve efficiency.
Wright Patterson will house the new U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. That will focus on acquisition of aircraft and support weapons systems. The new center will combine other facilities from bases in Massachusetts and Florida.
The Air Force Research Lab will remain headquartered at Wright Patterson and its focus will continue to be technology. The remaining three Centers in other parts of the country will focus on testing, sustainment, and nuclear weapons.
According to a press release from Air Force Materiel Command, the restructuring will eliminate 1,000 jobs but it’s unclear what the impact will be on Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio’s 3rd district released a statement responding to the news, saying this latest move by the Air Force "reinforces the importance of Wright Patterson".
The base employs 27,000 people in Southwest Ohio and is a large economic driver in the region. The Air Force Materiel Command restructuring is expected to be in place by October of 2012.
UPDATE 7:30 p.m. Officials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base say there will be a net gain of over 360 jobs as a result of the Air Force initiatives.