The new commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base says becoming more efficient and taking on more work will help the base survive well into the future.
Maj. Gen. Bruce A. Litchfield, a featured speaker at a chamber of commerce luncheon, spoke Wednesday in downtown Oklahoma City about the challenges facing the Air Force and other branches of the military.
The new commander didn't make any promises but said he believes the base has what it takes — the location, the reputation and workforce — to survive.
“I will not BRAC-proof Tinker,” Litchfield said. “I want to put it so it's not even in the discussion.”
Litchfield said military spending in the U.S. is set to reach “20- or 30-year” lows in the near future. He said restructuring at the base — and many others across the U.S. — is inevitable.
“Tinker will be going through restructuring in the future,” Litchfield said. “We are all waiting to see what will happen due to the failure of the supercommittee.”
Litchfield, who repeatedly referenced the gloomy mood in Washington as he discussed funding, said taking on more responsibility, as a base, and doing those jobs faster and with fewer mistakes is the only way Tinker will make it.
“The better we become at our job, the more capability we have for the same cost,” he said. “We can go from being relevant to being in demand.”
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