Wright-Patt AFB bracing for budget cuts

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio (WDTN) - A major command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been told by the Air Force to make some budget cuts in an effort to save money with the possibility of even bigger cuts in the future.

2 NEWS has learned those future cuts could have a major impact on the Miami Valley.

LESSENING THE BLOW

A solid foundation is an essential part of the construction of the new GE Aviation building at the corner of Stewart and Patterson in Dayton.

But now that company and any that do business with Wright Patterson Air Force Base, suddenly find themselves on shakier ground.

"It's very hard to predict how the situation is going to play out," says Joe Zeis with the Dayton Development Coalition.

With $500 billion in defense cuts looming unless the government takes action, spokesperson Sue Murphy tells 2 NEWS Air Force Materiel Command headquartered at Wright-Patt has been advised to start eliminating travel, minor purchases, facility repairs and as soon as next week, a hiring freeze could be implemented.

"The important thing we're focused on is making cuts where we can make them but still being able to accomplish our mission," Murphy says.

But Congressman Mike Turner thinks that mission could soon be in jeopardy.

The "Fiscal Cliff" compromise pushed back the major budget cuts until March, but Turner, who voted against the cuts, says he's not sure if a deal will be reached this time. 

"The threat is imminent and people need to be aware of it now," Turner says.

That's why an effort has been underway to make sure places like the new GE Aviation building, which will do work on electric power systems, aren't just dependent on the base for business.

"While the defense industry may be leveling or decreasing, the commercial aerospace industry is actually increasing to a very large degree," Zeis says.

But when you talk about cuts to a place that employs more than 29,000, somebody's going to feel the impact.

"It's not an easy time," Zeis says.

CONTRACTORS UNCERTAIN

What they make is small, but its impact is great.

"There's a wide variety of very small and very tiny devices we fabricate here," says Larry Dosser with the Mound Laser and Photonics Center.

Those devices created at the Mound Laser and Photonics Center are used as medical implants among other things.

The money to research them comes from places like the Defense Department and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, so possible budget cuts there are no small matter.

"Those cuts are in my opinion very Draconian and certainly not the right way to go about this," Dosser says.

Turner says they would have a major impact on the military.

"They are so severe they would affect our ability of current operations," Turner says.

They'd also affect the operations of defense contractors like Mound Laser.

Already the company is exploring ways to save the base money.

"We're going to work together with them right now to see what we can do as a company to support these challenges they're going through," Dosser says.

But the company is in the process of building a new manufacturing facility set to open this spring.

Its small work is getting bigger, but so are the unknowns.

"Am I nervous about it?," Dosser asks. "Certainly. But I know this community. I think we're going to be able to pull through this."

The AFMC will have more details on the initial cuts early next week.