ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The Navy’s C-130 programmed depot maintenance workload currently being done at Hill Air Force Base, Utah by the Ogden Air Logistics Complex will begin to transition to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in June. This projected workload will bring 400 new jobs over five years to the WR-ALC and make Robins the Center of Excellence for C-130 maintenance, repair and overhaul for all of the Department of Defense.
That doesn’t mean the gains at Warner Robins are at the cost of Ogden.
“This move will equate to zero jobs lost at Ogden, in fact with the F-35 growing they’re going to increase more than they already are now,” said Brig. Gen. John Kubinec, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex commander. “This is not a negative thing for anybody, this is a positive thing for our Department of Defense.”
Brig. Gen. Stacey Hawkins, Ogden ALC commander, agrees.
"As the size of the F-35 fleet increases, so will the potential for increased workload at the Ogden Air Logistics Complex. Given the projected growth, we’re preparing for additional workload in the coming years and have postured our resources and processes to meet the sustainment needs of the F-35 now and in the future."
Kubinec went on to say that the great work of the men and women of the WR-ALC is what has enabled the increased workload and capacity to bring the C-130s to Robins.
“We have a workforce that knows the C-130. We’ve been sustaining the C-130 here for a long time, and we’re very confident that we’ll be able to provide the readiness to the Navy and Marine Corps just like we have to our Air Force customers.”
That in-depth knowledge is not solely a Robins asset, as all three of the air logistics complexes in the Air Force Sustainment Center work seamlessly to support the DOD’s goals.
“We operate our three ALC’s as one enterprise,” Kubinec said. “It’s not each depot for themselves. And so as you look at that enterprise you have to balance the enterprise with the demands of readiness that our nation has.
“This has been in the works for years, this was a well thought out plan fully coordinated across the entire Air Force and the Department of the Navy. We’ve invested $20 million over the next two years to reconfigure our factory, to free up space to bring in that new Navy workload,” he added.
Kubinec finished by saying, “We can’t ever forget, the reason we exist is the warfighter, the men and women who are today in harm’s way, protecting the freedoms we hold dear, that’s why we’re here, that’s why we exist, and we can never forget that.”