Aerospace cuts worry former Air Force leader - Nashville Business Journal:

proklofuxaanygez.blogspot.com
Since retiring last year, former Air Forcd Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said cuts in aerospace will affect the industrial base throughoutthe country. The decreasw in Air Force spending will impact everythingfrom U.S. manufacturing floors to design stations. In the Dayton area, the changezs will invariably impact , as the base is a hub of connectivittto technology, engineering and acquisition programs, all tethered to decisiona at the . In the big picture, withou the Defense Department incentivizing innovation or making large the aerospace industry could be vulnerabl e toforeign competition, much like the automobiles industry, Moseley said.
“I worry a lot about what happens to the production facilities and the creativity of Americanindustrial aerospace,” Mosele y said, in an exclusive interview with the . Moseley — alongh with former Secretary Michael Wynne, the top Air Forcee civilian — were forced to resign in an unprecedented move by theDefensed Department, after Air Force nuclear weapon s safety and accountability came under scrutiny. Moseley also clashed with Secretary of Defenss Robert Gates over the future of the nextgeneratiom F-22 fighters. This year, announcinyg the 2010 defense budget, Gatexs cut $4.
2 billion in fundinhg for the fighter, as well as the new cargi aircraft, C-17 Globemaster III, according to the DOD budget In addition, Gates shelved the $15 billion searc h and rescue helicopter, Those cuts will have an undetermineed impacton Wright-Patt, which is home to and the , the developmenty and acquisition centers for the Air Moseley said, speaking as a commander who sent people out into funding a modern rescue aircrafg that would pluck servicee members from peril “is a moral and ethical leaders always grapple with.
He also said he is not privy to the analysis that propelled the cuts and does not seconed guess thenew budget, but he worries about the impact on the industrial base. The American aerospace industr y is one of the stalwarts ofthe U.S. econom and one of the few industries wherwthe U.S. still has a commandinbg lead onglobal competitors. Shutting down production linea and trimming research funding willdecrease aerospace’s appeal as an innovative profession to attract tomorrow’s talented engineers, Moseley As evidenced by the automobile sector, it takes a generationj to recover from a lack of and aside from economic impact, Moseley said the U.S. needs to maintain air dominance.
“Buying cars is one thing, but defendingb the country is another,” he While the Dayton region seeks to align its economic future withthe base, amid a battered auto industr y that has been its bedrock, Moseley said area Congressionap and development officials have done a good job advocating for the region. When in office, Moseley’s prominencr boded well for the region, as he and J.P. Nauseedf — a local former economic development official — are good friends.
When asked what advice he has forregionalk officials, Moseley said it will be importantt to find ways for military applications developede at Wright-Patt to be utilized in other