Orrin Hatch: “I want to extend my personal gratitude to the Armed Services Committee Chairman and the Ranking Member, as well as to…”

“I want to extend my personal gratitude to the Armed Services Committee Chairman and the Ranking Member, as well as to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Readiness for their consideration of my recommended language at Sec. 361 of this bill. This provision requires the Secretary of Defense to report on the consequences of high OPTEMPO on military aviation and ground equipment. Let me explain why I applaud this provision. My particular interest is somewhat more focused on aviation assets. Quite simply, we need to know the adverse effects that the worldwide contingency operations engaged in by our military high-performance aircraft are having on the integrity of the aircraft's frame, engines and other components. I raise this issue, Mr. President, because my state proudly hosts the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Just recently, a team of depot technicians at Hill discovered that the mechanical assembly designed to brake or halt the rise and fall of the stabilizer on the Air Force KC-135 tanker had been prematurely wearing out because of a surge of KC-135 flight activity, much of it related to the frantic deployment schedules that these aircrews are tied to. The shortage of replacement parts for the stabilizer braking system forced the Air Force to come up with a methodology to refurbish the old part.”