Local organizations are ready to battle on behalf of the Fort Wayne Air National Guard base if the Pentagon recommends eliminating its squadron of fighter jets.

The 122nd Fighter Wing expects to learn Friday whether the Department of Defense intends to scrap its 163rd Fighter Squadron as part of nearly $500 billion in spending cuts.

Spokesmen for the Fort Wayne Base Community Council, the Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association and the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce said Thursday they will promote the performance and efficiency of the air base to federal officials.

“The Guard can do essentially what the Air Force can do for about 28 cents on the dollar,” said Rob Young, president of the Base Community Council, a support group for military families. “I think that is a great starting point. It’s a great value for American taxpayers.”

Raytheon operations director Bruce Menshy, chairman of the Defense Industry Association, said, “We’ll certainly be supportive of the Guard and its mission here and its ability to perform that mission in an efficient way.”

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Landram said he sent a letter supporting the 122nd Fighter Wing to government officials.

“We recognize the economic impact the base has on our community and are working to ensure it stays put,” Landram said in a news release.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry issued a statement on behalf of the local base.

“I met with some of the affected families in my home last night and have contacted the Office of U.S. Senator Coats to voice my concerns and to offer my strong support to Indiana’s federal delegation as they fight to retain the Fort Wayne Air National Guard base,” Henry said. “I am also working closely with local leaders to preserve this exceptional regional asset. This is an issue of the utmost importance. The Air National Guard base and the men and women of the 122nd Fighter Wing are valuable to this community and to our country. We want to keep the base and all of the jobs it represents here for many years to come.”

Five bases that fly the A-10 Warthog fighter jet, including Fort Wayne’s, are slated to lose their squadrons, according to media reports this week. The Pentagon favors the F-35, a far costlier but more versatile fighter jet under development.

The Air Force Times reported Wednesday that the Air Force will retire 102 Warthogs, or 29 percent of its A-10 inventory.

The 122nd Fighter Wing has converted from F-16 jets to the A-10 planes in the past three years. The base flies 16 to 18 planes.

“To even think about pulling the plug on that doesn’t make any sense and doesn’t reward the base for stepping up and doing its mission,” Young said.

Fort Wayne’s 163rd Fighter Squadron technically consists of pilots and their support personnel, about three dozen people in all. But many of the 122nd Fighter Wing’s 1,200 full- and part-time employees have jobs related to the operation and maintenance of the squadron.

If the A-10 would be yanked, there is a chance the 122nd Fighter Wing would be “re-missioned” with another plane or purpose, officials at the base said this week.

The proposed A-10 cuts are part of the Pentagon’s plan to shave $487 billion from spending over the next 10 years as required by last summer’s Budget Control Act.

That plan is certain to change as it is considered by Congress, said Tim White, vice chairman of the Defense Industry Association.

“There’s a lot of discussion to be had yet,” said White, a spokesman for ITT Exelis.

The Defense Department is proposing to do away with other planes and ships as well as trimming troop levels by 80,000 soldiers and 20,000 Marines.

Federal lawmakers from both political parties are already protesting the Pentagon’s intention to start up the independent Base Realignment and Closures Commission for the first time since 2005.

Three congressmen joined in a statement describing a new round of BRAC as “dead on arrival,” according to the Hill newspaper. And Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has said U.S. bases overseas should be closed before domestic operations are shut.

bfrancisco@jg.net