PERSONNEL CUTS TO AFFECT STAFF AT EDWARDS.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer

Edwards Air Force Base will lose 123 civilian and military jobs next year as a result of personnel changes throughout the Air Force, officials said Friday.

As the result of the implementation of what the Air Force calls its Expeditionary Aerospace Force concept, some Edwards units will gain personnel, but the overall result will be a loss of 64 military jobs and 59 civilian jobs out of the base's approximately 10,500 workers.

``These reductions were not unexpected,'' Air Force Flight Test Center commander Brig. Gen. Dick Reynolds said in the announcement of the cuts. ``And I want to stress that the Air Force's war-fighting capability must be our first priority. That's the whole rationale behind the Expeditionary Aerospace Force concept.''

The Air Force said the ``Expeditionary Aerospace Force'' concept marks a fundamental and evolutionary change in how it organizes, trains, and equips its units to meet national defense strategy and a changing global situation.

The change will add personnel to the units that bear the brunt of overseas deployment and invest more research money in space-related programs, a Pentagon announcement said.

By 2000, the Air Force will create Air Expeditionary Forces linking units that will serve together in overseas deployments, such as patrols over Iraq or in Bosnia. The Air Expeditionary Forces would take turns being on call for deployments.

The reductions eliminate positions for the 2000 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. Base officials say they will try to place individuals displaced by cuts into other jobs. Edwards spokesman Maj. Tom Gilroy noted that some of the positions may already be vacant.

The largest single cutback will be the reduction of 117 military positions in the 95th Communications Squadron.

The 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron will be Edwards' biggest gainer, with an increase in 45 military personnel because of additional work in the F-22 and B-1B test programs.