[Editor's Note: This is part 3 of what will be a multi-part series of articles on about 8 hours of Grant County Commission meeting time, with almost five hours for the work session on April 16, 2019, and about three hours for the regular meeting on April 18, 2019. This article is about an update by Col Susan Beck, retired, on the proposed F-16 flight training over the Gila.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

The second presentation of the Grant County Commission work session of April 16, 2019, came from Col. Susan Beck, retired Air Force, who has continued to keep the county, Silver City, and the Mining District municipalities informed on the progress of the environmental impact statement ongoing at Air Force Headquarters on a proposal made to expand training for F-16 pilots from Holloman Air Force Base. All the governmental entities in Grant County have created and submitted resolutions questioning the need for or opposing the expansion of training over the Gila.

"I want to give you an update to prepare you for the EIS, which is expected to be released next month or June," Beck said. "I also wanted to make you aware of flights over the Gila now."

She said she spent 24 years in the Air Force. "I worked as a weapons controller. I ended at the Secretary of the Air Force office and am qualified to answer your questions. I am not an Air Force advocate or activist. I come just to inform you. I am a resource. We support our military, which needs training."

Beck presented two maps showing the current training areas to the east of, over and to the west of Grant County. One showed the military operations areas (MOAs) used presently by Holloman and the Arizona MOAs operated by the Arizona Air National Guard out of the Tucson International Airport in Tucson and Luke AFB near Phoenix.

Beck said the alternatives that are proposed for the regional airspace optimization proposal for Holloman include four alternatives: Expand the Talon MOA to the east; expand the Cato/Smitty MOA, which is used by the New Mexico Air National Guard and add the Lobos MOA, all of which would impact the Gila National Forest and Wilderness; an unknown until the draft EIS is released; and the always occurring alternative of do nothing.

She said the optimization is for the areas used by Holloman and the proposal has them training over Grant County.

She noted that there may be concerns from the Federal Aviation Administration that the Lobos may be too close to FAA routes for commercial aircraft.

When the draft EIS comes out, a 45-day comment period will allow more comments. Beck confirmed that more than 2,300 scoping comments were sent from Grant County residents, even after the scoping period ended in fall 2017. All comments will be factored into the draft EIS.

The Iraq Air Force has been training at the Tucson ANG base, but will be leaving soon to return to Iraq. Luke AFB is evaluating moving a Taiwan Air Force F-16 squadron to the Tucson ANG base.

Commissioner Harry Browne asked about the alternative 3, which is unknown. "Could it be a combination of alternatives 1 and 2?"

Beck said it will more likely be a discrete alternative. "The Air Force can pick two alternatives."

She visited the Tucson ANG base and visited the 162nd Wing, which has three F-16 squadrons and one training squadron, with 80 F-16s, including the 8 from the Iraq Air Force, and 10 belonging to the Netherlands Royal Dutch Air Force. The rest are assigned to the Arizona Air National Guard. The facilities have trained F-16 pilots from 25 countries, including the afore-mentioned, Norway, Singapore and Japan. She said training includes sorties involving the use of chaff and flares.

Beck said the pilots from the Arizona ANG train one weekend a month, mostly Saturday and Sunday, with curtailment of training at 3 p.m. Sunday. "They primarily train over the western part of Grant County and over Reserve and Morenci. They use some low-level airspace. So, the flights that have been reported over the Gila area are most likely from the Tucson ANG. In 2018, they authorized up to 2.460 individual sorties." She said the Air Force assessed the impacts that might come from relocating the Taiwanese 14 F-16s to replace the 8 F-16s leaving with the Iraq Air Force. The assessment issued a FONSI (finding of no significant impact). Total annual sorties for all F-16s at Tucson ANGB is set at 31,723.

She emphasized that none of the flights over the Gila came from Holloman.

Beck also visited Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, which includes the 58th special operations wing. It trains for special operations and combat search and rescue with 60 Air Force assigned aircraft, but no F-16s. No flights are made over the Gila region. The 150th Special Operation Wing has no aircraft assigned to it, with no flying mission. Although it has no flying mission, being one of only three states to not have a flying mission, those assigned to the base can learn high tech careers.

Because county residents had reported C-130 flights over the Gila Region, Beck did research and found they come from the 139th Airlift Wing, Air National Guard, Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, Missouri. Sorties are flown in New Mexico and Arizona because of the terrain in the region, which is similar to the terrain in Afghanistan.

She noted that sorties reported by residents on March 14, included a US Marine Corps aircraft that launched flares in the Morenci MOA. She awaits a response from the 139th wing on their schedule that day.

The Morenci airspace is close to Cliff and Gila where the sorties were reported. "The F-16s have very sophisticated locations software. The aircraft do have authorization to launch flares and chaff."

In summary, the military has training routes in southern New Mexico, including various low-level routes. "They can fly over the Gila Forest and Wilderness as low at 100 feet altitude, but they are north of the Mining District and Silver City. They have been known to fly low around Lordsburg. Much of southern New Mexico, including the Gila Wilderness areas are already being used for flight training by Tucson. If the Lobos area was established, Holloman, which is not flying over this area, might begin flying over the area."

She said that it is important for Holloman to minimize transit time for maximum training time, and the Gila is at a distance from Holloman that may not make it feasible. Beck also said that any aircraft, including military and commercial aircraft may cross this area using visual flight rules.

Browne asked Beck if she was enjoying retirement.

"I am," Beck replied. "I was blessed with an Air Force career. I'm paying it forward by providing information to address misinformation."

The next article will complete the presentations.