Duckworth, Durbin, Budzinski Call for Pause on 183rd Wing Deactivation, Push for Replacement Mission

October 01, 2026 Duckworth, Durbin, Budzinski Call for Pause on 183rd Wing Deactivation, Push for Replacement Mission [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – As the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) prepare to negotiate the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), today urged SASC and HASC leadership to add language into the final bill to temporarily halt any plans to deactivate the 183rd Wing’s Central Repair Facility (CRF) in Springfield, Illinois. In the letter, the new language would require that the deactivation not occur until the Air Force and National Guard Bureau identify a replacement mission to provide Illinois servicemembers and their families with a clear path forward. The lawmakers wrote: “The addition [to the bill] we seek would place a temporary halt on closing or deactivating any Air Force Central Repair Facility (CRF) until September 30, 2028, unless the Air Force assigns a deployable replacement mission, and require the Secretary of the Air Force to submit a report within 90 days detailing fighter engine repair demands and a comprehensive sustainment plan for the fighter fleet, including the technician workforce needed to maintain required technical skillsets.” “We are concerned a hasty deactivation of the Central Repair Facility (CRF) mission could risk adequate sustainment of our fighter fleet.” the lawmakers continued. “Centralized repair capacity provides critical maintenance depth by concentrating the specialized equipment, technical expertise and trained personnel that are necessary to return engines and components to service. This capacity is especially important as the Air Force sustains forward fighter forces in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, supports ongoing operations in the Middle East and transitions to platforms such as the F-15EX and F-35A.” At a time when U.S. forces are facing sustained operational demands in the illegal Iran War and across the globe, the lawmakers underscored how the importance of preserving the skilled workforce and repair capacity needed to keep fighter aircraft ready is critical to ensuring our Airmen can do their jobs and fly safely. The 183rd Wing’s specialized repair workforce plays a critical role in maintaining the Air Force’s fighter fleet and is the only single dedicated repair facility for the F-15EX in the Joint Force. The lawmakers underscored how preserving that capability is in the best interest of both our national defense and the 115 highly trained servicemembers and their families in Illinois who rely on this mission. Following the announcement that the CRF mission at the 183rd Wing would be deactivated, Duckworth, Durbin and Budzinski spoke with Illinois Adjutant General Major General Rodney Boyd and advocated for a suitable replacement mission. Earlier this month, the lawmakers also sent a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and National Guard Bureau Director General Steven Nordhaus, calling for them to establish a new Air Operations Group at the 183rd Wing and delay the CRF’s deactivation to allow adequate time for impacted airmen and women to be retrained for a new replacement mission or to retire if eligible. Full text of today’s letter is available on Senator Duckworth’s website and below: Dear Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith: As you prepare to conference the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we respectfully urge you to expand existing language in Section 131 of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) NDAA and include the updated language in the conferenced version of the bill. The addition we seek would place a temporary halt on closing or deactivating any Air Force Central Repair Facility (CRF) until September 30, 2028, unless the Air Force assigns a deployable replacement mission, and require the Secretary of the Air Force to submit a report within 90 days detailing fighter engine repair demands, an assessment of evolving repair needs, readiness impacts of deactivation and a comprehensive sustainment plan for the fighter fleet—including an inventory of all airframe and component repair facilities and the technician workforce needed to maintain required technical skillsets. We believe this addition would complement the intent of the provision, as we are concerned a hasty deactivation of the CRF mission could risk adequate sustainment of our fighter fleet, especially if Congress mandates an updated inventory of fighters, as required in the current iteration of Section 131. Centralized repair capacity provides critical maintenance depth by concentrating the specialized equipment, technical expertise and trained personnel that are necessary to return engines and components to service. This capacity is especially important as the Air Force sustains forward fighter forces in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, supports ongoing operations in the Middle East and transitions to platforms such as the F-15EX and F-35A. Preserving sufficient repair capacity and a skilled maintenance workforce is therefore essential to sustaining geographically dispersed operations without degrading readiness elsewhere. We are also specifically concerned about the troubling decision to deactivate, without a suitable replacement mission, the CRF mission at the 183rd Wing in Springfield, Illinois. Since 2012, the 183rd Wing has capably provided fighter jet engine maintenance for U.S. Armed Forces aircraft, including the U-2, F-16, A-10 and F-15EX. The 183rd’s CRF remains the only mission of its kind within the Joint Force and is the single dedicated repair facility for the F-15EX aircraft fleet. A deferred deactivation would mitigate the impact on the lives of our Illinois servicemembers and their families and make sure the Air Force has a plan for how to maintain the repair capability of our fighter fleet before sunsetting this critical capability. We appreciate your consideration of this language intended to safeguard critical maintenance capability and capacity organic to our Air Force and ensure adequate sustainment of the fighter fleet. Sincerely, -30- Print Tweet Previous Article