The 34-member Texas congressional delegation has gone to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta with its case against moving a squadron of Air National Guard C-130s from Texas to Montana.
The letter, written by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Armed Services Committee, was signed by all members of the delegation and is an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on Air Force leaders. The same group of senators and congressmen sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley in February, opposing the Air Force's decision to move the logistics aircraft from Naval Air Station Fort Worth to Great Falls, Mont."We are troubled that the Air Force has neither responded to our letter nor provided any additional insight behind the strategy for this proposed move during congressional hearings," Friday's letter stated.In fiscal 2014, the Air Force wants to move eight C-130s from the Air Guard's 136th Airlift Wing in Fort Worth to the Air Guard in Montana. The 136th would become a reconnaissance wing and fly MC-12 intelligence-gathering planes, which would shift from active duty into the reserves.Opposition to the move was swift, bipartisan and regional.Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his counterparts in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida have expressed their displeasure, contending that responses to hurricanes and other disasters will be significantly weakened across the Gulf Coast."The loss of the Wing's C-130s would remove a powerful airlift asset that in the past has saved the lives of citizens along the Gulf Coast who have found themselves in harm's way," Cornyn's letter stated.U.S. Rep. Kay Granger and other congressional leaders have also pointedly questioned Donley about the financial costs of preparing the Montana base for the large aircraft and of taking two squadrons out of commission while they are retrained on new aircraft.The Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, said last week that Air Force leaders are reconsidering the move and trying to come up with an alternative.Chris Vaughn,817-390-7547Twitter: @CVaughnFW
U.S. House seeks to stop Air Force from moving C-130s out of Fort Worth
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