On alert: pilot stress, aging equipment cause angst at D.C. Air Guard.

• Author: Jean, Grave V.
• Position: Homeland Security

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ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. --Defending the nation's capital from an aerial attack might seem a good enough reason to give a wing commander whatever he needs. But it has not worked out that way for the aviators of the District of Columbia Air National Guard.

"Sometimes I fed like we're fighting a Saks Fifth Avenue war on a Kmart budget," says Col. Jeff Johnson, vice commander of the 113th Wing.

Since 9/11, the wing's F-16 fighter jets have scrambled into the skies to intercept aircraft that have wandered into the region's no-fly zones. They have deployed twice to Iraq. They voluntarily deployed to Louisiana in January, where the local squadron Could not fly after the Air Force grounded most of its F-15 fleet because of structural defects.

"We're doing a wider variety of missions with fewer ranges, less time, less flying hours, less aircraft availability, and even less money to pay my pilots," says Johnson.

The F-16 Block 30 aircraft that the wing operates can conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions and provide dose air support. By virtue of being an "air sovereignty alert" unit, the wing's 121st Fighter Squadron has the widest mission set of any U.S. fighter unit, says Johnson.

The hectic pace of operations means the aging F-16s will not last much longer, say wing officials. Despite efforts to modernize the aircraft, they are slated to retire in 2015.

"The capability limits in an airplane that was built in 1986 are tangible," says Johnson, who has flown the F-16 for 18 years.

Congressional limitations prohibit large-scale improvements to aircraft during the waning five years to retirement, an interval known as the sunset period.

"Once it goes into sunset, we can only put modifications on the airplane that cost less than $100,000 per airplane, which is chump change. We're fast approaching that with these Block 30s," says Johnson. "We need to start thinking now about how we're going to replace these airplanes."

Once a strategic reserve for the Cold War, the 113th Wing, known as the Capital Guardians, now flies two daily missions. The 121st Fighter Squadron provides air defense for the national capital region while the 201st Airlift Squadron transports congressional delegations around the globe.

Only a few months after 9/11, the wing constructed five temporary shelters to keep fighter jets ready for scrambling and brought in two double-wide trailers to house the alert detachment pilots and crews. When the...