What will it mean if US Air National Guard 102nd is shut down?

Dec 21, 2023

BOURNE — Airman Jack Teixeira wasn't the only Massachusetts Air National Guardsman affected by his alleged leak of classified documents. A Cape-specific and nationwide investigation into the leak, how it happened and how to prevent future leaks are ongoing in its wake.

But the Cape unit has taken a direct hit. The U.S. Air Force temporarily closed down the 102nd intelligence wing at Joint Base Cape Cod on April 14. It was the unit Teixeira belonged to.

The Air Force statement read in part that the mission of the 102nd has been "temporarily reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force."

Between 100 and 200 people are estimated to be in the unit, according to Mark Forest, chair of the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners. Forest said he invested 26 years into the military base, first serving as an aide to U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds (1973-1997) and then U.S. Rep. William Delahunt (1997-2011), who both represented Cape Cod. He was involved in discussions with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which initially marked Otis Air Base for closure.

Massachusetts politicians, led by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Delahunt, argued to keep it open. The base had the 102nd fighter interceptor wing and its F-15 jets at the time, but that Air National Guard unit was eventually moved to Westfield. The demise of the fighter wing meant the U.S. Coast Guard had to pick up the costs of the air base, Forest said. It's a financial pressure that's weighing heavily on the Coast Guard still, he said.

"As a county commissioner I’m very concerned about the financial liability of the base," he said.

In 2009, a 38-page report by Basile Baumann Prost Cole & Associates Inc. laid out the economic impact of Joint Base Cape Cod on the region and state. At the time, and currently, the base was home to units from the Massachusetts Army National Guard (Camp Edwards) and Air National Guard (Otis Air National Guard Base), U.S. Air Force (Cape Cod Space Force Station) and U.S. Coast Guard (Air Station Cape Cod). Nearly 3,800 direct jobs — some full-time and some part-time — represented a payroll of $224 million annually.

The Air National Guard made up 30% of the personnel in 2009 between full- and part-time employees, for a total of 1,135 positions. The combined payroll represented more than $104 million. The report estimated the Air National Guard was responsible for more than $45 million in consumer spending.

Forest estimated that there are between 100 and 200 personnel in the 102nd intelligence wing now. Take those employees and their incomes away, and the area could suffer, he said. Furthermore, Forest is concerned that the closure of the 102nd intelligence wingcould lead to its mission being moved elsewhere. He called it a desirable mission that could be carried out almost anywhere, and for less cost.

"The mission being served by the intelligence wing is a mission that many other Air National Guard units would love to have," he said.

U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., took a more reserved approach, repeating the Air Force statement that it is a temporary closure. Keating sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittee for Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

"They said they were shutting the 102nd down temporarily pending review," Keating said. "That's prudent. The key is let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Keating called the 102nd's work effective in campaigns including those in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. He called the unit's work important to the overall security of the country. He cautioned against any rush to judgment about possible economic impacts.

"The decision will be made on a security basis for our country," Keating said. "Let the investigators do their work."

Contact Denise Coffey at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.

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