General hopes hiring freeze exemption will be expanded

The federal hiring freeze exemption for aircraft maintenance at Robins Air Force Base is good news, a top commander said Thursday, but an expansion of it would help even more.

Lt. Gen. Lee Levy, commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, said aircraft production has been hurt “a little bit” by the hiring freeze, and he said the use of overtime has helped offset the impact of the freeze.

Levy made the comments after speaking to about 400 people at the base’s annual Program Executive Officer Review and Outlook at the Museum of Aviation. The Air Force Sustainment Center is the parent agency of the Air Force’s three aircraft maintenance depots, including the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex.

The base was notified March 17 that the complex, which employs about 7,000 people, had gotten an exemption from the freeze for all personnel. While Levy said that is good news, he noted that maintenance depends on the support of many other organizations at Robins that remain under the hiring freeze.

“It’s important to know that nothing happens in the Air Logistics Complex without the full support and collaboration of our mission partners,” he said. “They are integral teammates, and we can’t run any faster than they can. Fixing one part of the ecosystem is helpful, but not nearly as helpful as fixing the entire ecosystem.”

President Donald Trump imposed the 90-day freeze on federal hiring Jan. 23, but he left an opening for jobs related to national defense to be exempted.

Levy also said that a Global Hawk, an unmanned aircraft, will likely fly into Robins sometime in August. The flight is a test with the aim of eventually having the reconnaissance aircraft maintained at Robins.

The Program Executive Officer Review and Outlook allows businesses of all sizes to hear from top base leaders about the needs of the base that businesses can meet.

Also speaking to the group with Levy was his counterpart, Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The center is responsible for management of all Air Force aircraft and is in charge to deciding where to do the Global Hawk work. Thompson said he couldn’t say how many jobs the Global Hawk could mean for Robins.

“We haven’t exactly determined what we are going to be doing and how we are going to be doing it,” he said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 2:45 PM with the headline "General hopes hiring freeze exemption will be expanded."