An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

BRAC Progress

  • Published
  • By Mr. Frank Laras
  • 43rd Airlift Wing BRAC Program Management Office
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Team Pope prepares for the next realignment step in accordance with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Law. The 2005 BRAC Law mandated the distribution of the assigned 43rd Airlift Wing C-130s and the 23rd Fighter Group A-10s to meet Air Force requirements at other locations; establish a Reserve/Active Duty 16 C-130H organization; establish a Medical Squadron; establish an Air Force Group to provide mission execution, planning, and management of efficient load-out of Fort Bragg assets; and transfer Real Property accountability to the Army (Fort Bragg). The 2005 BRAC Law directed the mandates be completed no later than September 15, 2011. 

The 440th Airlift Wing stood up at Pope AFB in June 2007 and the active duty squadrons, the 2nd Airlift Squadron and the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, were associated in June 2008. The transfer of the Pope assigned 23rd FG A-10s was completed in December 2007 and the 43rd AW C-130s was completed in June 2008. 

The following BRAC mandates have a completion target date of September 2010: the transfer of Real Property to the Ft. Bragg Garrison and the establishment of the 43rd Airlift Group, which will execute en route operations in support of contingency deployments and training of Fort Bragg assets. The 43rd AW will inactivate, making room for the establishment of the 43rd AG, once the preponderance of its responsibilities have transferred. 

The challenge ahead lies in the timely transfer of the 43rd Airlift Wing responsibilities. The concept is Pope host installation responsibilities and base operations support will transfer from the 43rd AW to the Fort Bragg Garrison, and airfield operations will transfer from the 43rd AW to the 440th AW. The challenge is in finding balance between meeting mission responsibilities and managing personnel needs. The Army and the Air Force Reserve Command need to obtain funds and manning to meet the September 2010 target date in order for the 43rd AW to inactivate and the 43rd AG focus on its en route Green Ramp mission. 

The road ahead has many activities and milestones. The first is to develop support agreements between supporting Fort Bragg agencies and the five remaining Air Force Major Commands at Pope. Agreements also have to be established between the five AF MAJCOMs for mutual support. This process is under way as the AF MAJCOMs identify the Fort Bragg support requirements required post-BRAC. The milestone for the agreements to be completed and signed is June 2010. The transfer plan between the 43rd AW and Fort Bragg and the 440th AW is also under development. The transfer of functions from the 43rd AW to the new responsible organization will not happen overnight but will transfer when the receiving organization is properly funded and manned to take on the new responsibility; this will most likely be a phased process and could go beyond the target date of September 2010; thus, requiring a Bridging Strategy to ensure mission success and that we take care of the 43rd AW personnel. 

Col. James Johnson, 43rd AW Commander, has directed the standup of the 43rd AW BRAC Program Management Office. The 43rd AW BRAC PMO will be responsible for the focus of the Team Pope effort and providing oversight through the final realignment and transfer process. The PMO will have dedicated full-time personnel with expertise in the various Wing missions. In addition, Team Pope personnel will be detailed and/or matrixed to the PMO, as required, to execute tasks. Colonel Johnson acknowledged we are on an aggressive timeline to meet the September 2010 timeframe. His major concerns during this final BRAC phase at Pope are the safe and successful completion of the mission and the proper care of the Pope military and civilian workforce. The Pope missions provide key capabilities for our nation and we need everyone on the team to help us continue accomplishing these missions as well as the critical BRAC work that remains in front of us. We really have a unique opportunity to establish Pope Field...that is no easy task and it will require the collective energy of a talented team, but we have great people who are dedicated to this work which will ensure our ability to support the nation's vital missions now and into the future. Team Pope leadership, together and in partnership with the Fort Bragg Garrison, will do everything possible to make the rest of the BRAC journey as smooth and seamless as possible for the Pope workforce while keeping everyone as informed as possible as we move towards the September 2010 target date for BRAC completion.