WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Senate considers the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Sen. Brown is working again to modernize the Air Force’s C-130H fleet and support jobs at Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base (ANGB). To meet federal and international standards, the Air Force must modernize its C-130H fleet by 2020.

“Modernizing the Air Force’s C-130H fleet will support jobs in Richland County and give the men and women at Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base the opportunity to continue their important work,” said Brown. “Ohio’s National Guard carries out missions that provide emergency response support and humanitarian aid. I’ll keep advocating for this modernization so these critical missions can continue.”

Brown co-sponsored an amendment offered by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) that would support jobs at Mansfield Lahm ANGB by calling on the Air Force to coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to meet safety and compliance regulations by the 2020 deadline. This amendment builds on legislation that Sen. Brown co-sponsored last Congress, the Air Force C-130H Fleet Modernization Act.

Last week, two representatives of Brown’s office visited the Mansfield Lahm (ANGB) to tour the base and receive an update on the base’s progress since it acquired eight C-130H planes from the Air Force in 2013.

Brown has worked to bring jobs to the Mansfield Base. In March 2013, Brown announced that the base would receive a new mission and eight C-130H planes from the Air Force creating more than 180 jobs. Brown also helped secure funding for the construction of the new $6.8 million RED HORSE facility at the base, which supports the administration, operations, logistics, and training of a 202-member self-sustaining heavy construction unit. The Armed Forces Reserve Center is a $16 million facility used for administrative, storage, and training purposes. It also houses the 3rd Platoon of the Army Reserve 486th Engineers.

 

The C-130H fleet is the U.S. military’s primary tactical logistics aircraft fleet, and has provided humanitarian assistance, precision airdrop, and tactical airlift missions across the globe for more than four decades. Because of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and international airspace regulatory constraints, the fleet will be largely inoperable unless major communication, navigation, and surveillance upgrades are made by 2020.

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