Tillis: Pentagon’s Deactivation Of 440th Already Compromising Army Training And Readiness | Eastern NC Now

Last Month, The Air Force Only Met 61% Of The Army's Paratrooper Jump Requirements

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) delivered a Senate floor speech to provide an update on the Pentagon's failure to meet the Army's paratrooper training requirements at Fort Bragg.

 Earlier this year, the Pentagon announced it would be dismantling the 440th Airlift Wing at Pope Airfield, claiming that it would be more cost effective to fly in planes from other parts of the country to serve the XVIII Airborne Corps and would not compromise the Army's training and readiness.

 However, the Air Force has subsequently fallen woefully short of fulfilling the Army's training requirements for paratrooper jumps. The Air Force only fulfilled 61% of the Army's required number of jumps in March of 2016, one month after failing to meet its requirements in February. The March numbers were 1,300 jumps below that of February. The Army had to augment the lack of paratroop support by having an additional 375 jumps from Army helicopters.

 The XVIII Airborne Corps has been clear that it requires 10,000 parachute jumps a month to be proficient. Army regulations state that 8,000 jumps a month are the minimum to keep the Sky Dragons and the All American Division current. The Air Force has failed to meet the 8,000 chute minimum, much less the 10,000 jump requirement Fort Bragg says it must have.

Parachute Jumps at Fort Bragg — March 2016
	Required	Exited	% of Required
Parachute Jumps	10,000	6,144	61%

 The inadequate number of jumps are illuminating considering that Fort Bragg had outstanding flying weather during the first three months of the year, raising concerns over how much further the Air Force will fall short of the Army's requirements during the thunderstorm season of summer.

 Senator Tillis has been leading the effort with the North Carolina Congressional delegation to protect the C-130H presence at Fort Bragg and ultimately ensure that the Army's training requirements are being met. During his speech, Senator Tillis stated he will be working with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain to push the Pentagon to answer when they expect to meet the training needs of the Global Response Force.

 WATCH SENATOR TILLIS' FULL SPEECH HERE.