179th Airlift Wing is 'full-speed ahead' with new cyberspace mission

Troy Cramer joked he has gone through the five stages of grief over the change in missions for the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard.

Appearing as a civilian, Cramer addressed the Republican luncheon at DLX Monday afternoon. He is a colonel and the mission support group commander for the 179th.

Long known for transport in the iconic C-130 planes, the 179th is converting to a cyberspace mission.

"It was challenging at first," Cramer said. "When you've got 75 years of flying and 46 years with the C-130s, it was hard on a lot of folks to see the aircraft go away.

"Change is hard. There were a lot of people that were excited about it (new mission), but there were a lot of people who were disappointed. "

At the same time, Cramer said members of the base know how important their new mission will be.

"When you see what we're facing with our national defense security, this is a mission that we desperately need to have," he said.

Because of the sensitivity of the new mission, members of the 179th have not been able to release many details. It's another change they have had to face.

"We have always been very open with our community members and invited them to the base and showed them the aircraft and had them go up in the aircraft," Cramer said. "Now with the mission we're going into, we can't share as much as we used to. We can give people an idea, but it's not the same as seeing the aircraft fly overhead."

Cramer showed the Republicans a video presentation he also shared on Veterans Day. He said the 179th will officially have the re-designation in June, at which time the airlift flag will be retired and a cyberspace flag will be raised.

Air National Guard 'full-speed ahead with new mission'

"We are still an airlift wing in name only," Cramer told the News Journal. "We are full-speed ahead with the new mission."

He got those in attendance fired up by showing clips from the popular Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun: Maverick."

"We aren't sure what the mission will be, but it will involve creating cyber effects in order to help our aircraft and aircrew have flight safety," Cramer said.

The 179th received word in August 2021 that it would be the site of the first Air National Guard cyberspace wing, beating out Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gov. Mike DeWine made an official announcement late in 2022.

Cramer said one advantage at the 179th is having all the squadrons and capabilities in one location.

"That is what sets us apart from everyone else," he said.

He said the next step in the transition will be placing a 10,000-square-foot modular unit in one of the hangars, along with repurposing an existing building.

The need for a cyberspace mission is caused by the emergence of China as a global trade power with what Cramer calls "tremendous military growth."

He offered a map that showed how the Chinese have expanded their trade radius in the last few decades.

Cramer provides update on latest 179th mission

Cramer provided an update on the 179th's latest mission, which involved sending four C-130s to Kuwait from February to June of last year.

Members of the 179th flew in and out of 13 countries, logging 4,000 hours and transporting 13.7 million pounds of cargo.

They earned a 98% maintenance effective rate, Cramer said.

In addition, the 179th has been very involved in COVID-19 missions in Ohio for the last two years-plus. Members next will be deployed between April and September 2025.

Other areas will remain the same. Cramer said the base's firefighters will stay after the conversion to the new mission. There are 24.

He said the new mission will attract recruits who have backgrounds in STEM. Already, there are members of the 179th from 56 of Ohio's 88 counties.

"Folks that are coming out of high school and college will be perfect to join the cyberspace mission," Cramer said.

The economic impact on the area, estimated at $140 million a year, is expected to grow to at least $300 million annually over the next three years, Cramer said.

"We're very excited about this new mission, and it is definitely needed for our national defense strategy," he said.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Local Republicans hear update on 179th Airlift Wing's new mission