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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Kirtland To Add 430 Jobs in Sept.

By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Journal Staff Writer
          The workforce at Kirtland Air Force Base will grow by about 6 percent in September when the base adds 430 jobs, base officials announced Friday.
        Many of the new jobs are intended "to strengthen and support the Air Force's nuclear mission" at Kirtland, according to a written statement issued by the 377th Air Base Wing.
        Kirtland will gain 243 military personnel and 187 civilian Department of Defense employees, said Michael Kleiman, spokesman for the 377th Air Base Wing.
        Kirtland now employs about 7,000 military and civilian Department of Defense personnel, Kleiman said. That figure includes about 4,200 active-duty and reserve military personnel and 2,800 civilian employees.
        The workforce increase at Kirtland is related to the Air Force's plan to strengthen its nuclear mission.
        Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley in November announced a plan for "reinvigorating the Air Force nuclear enterprise" that included expanding the Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland.
        The plan called for consolidating nuclear management responsibilities at Kirtland from the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles.
        The action was intended to "clear up previously ambiguous chains of command" resulting from having two centers, Donley said.
        The new positions will be distributed largely among 12 units based at Kirtland. The new positions are authorized to begin Sept. 30.
        The 377th Security Forces Squadron, which provides military police services for the base, will add 134 military personnel, or more than a quarter the total number of new posts.
        New civilian workers will fill a wide range of posts, from entry level jobs to mid- and high-grade positions, Kleiman said.