The Ellsworth Task Force is ready to fly into political combat again, this time to defend a next-generation bomber program set to be cut by the Obama administration.

Task force members spoke in a teleconference call Monday with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who has emerged as a congressional leader in the effort to restore funding for the 2018 bomber, named for the year it was scheduled to go online. They pledged to support the bomber funding through contacts with members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and unite with citizen's groups connected to bomber bases in other states to emphasize the need for the new, technologically advanced weapons system.

Task force chairman Chris Lien said the move against the next-generation bomber reminds him of a decision by the administration of President Jimmy Carter to stop the B-1 bomber program in the late 1970s. President Ronald Reagan recognized the value of the B-1 and restored its funding, but development was delayed and costly, Lien said.

"I would just hate to see history repeat itself there," he said.

Thune said he would introduce legislation to restore funding for the next-generation bomber, set to be about $2 billion in the next federal fiscal year. Thune said he intends to bring up the issue later this week when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The bomber is essential to maintaining a strong, long-range bomber force with updated technology that could be deployed against U.S. adversaries in 20 or 30 years, Thune said. Although highly effective, the B-1 fleet, including those stationed at Ellsworth, is aging and will not be sufficient indefinitely, he said.

"We've got to have long-range strike capability," Thune said. "The next-generation bomber is critical."

Thune was joined on the conference call by retired Air Force Gen. Richard Hawley. Hawley said the elimination of the next-generation bomber would represent a "very major shift" in national defense focus. It would emphasize "wars we're in" at the expense of preparing for possible wars - or deterrence of wars - in the future, Hawley said.

Such a dramatic change in direction shouldn't be taken without involvement by the public and Congress, he said.

"We appear to be reshaping our national military strategy without having a full debate which the public and their elected representatives may participate in," Hawley said.

Some of the shift could be toward missile technology and away from bombers. But missiles can't replace bombers, which can respond when targets are moved, Hawley said.

"You can't target a missile at it, because you don't know where it'll be in 20 or 30 minutes," he said.

The task force and the congressional delegation worked to get Ellsworth Air Force Base off the base-closure list four years ago. And Thune said the task force could be important to the campaign to save the bomber. The bomber wouldn't necessarily end up at Ellsworth, but ongoing improvements at the base would make it a top contender, Thune said.

"If we're looking down the road, obviously a bed-down for the next-generation bomber would be a great opportunity for Ellsworth," he said.

Lien said there's better than a 50-50 chance of Ellsworth getting the bomber. But the chance goes to zero under Obama's current budget, he said. The task force hopes to help restore funding for the program and to one day compete for the bomber, he said.

"The B-1 is a great weapons system. We want to work to sustain that and move into the next generation," he said.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com