Hagel Brown

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a meeting with Senator Chuck Hagel, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) pressed the secretary of defense nominee on his support for a new mission at Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base (ANGB). Brown discussed a number of his Ohio priorities with Hagel during a meeting in Brown’s office this week.

“Mansfield Air Base is critical to our nation’s security and North-Central Ohio’s economy, Brown said. “I look forward to Sen. Hagel being a partner in securing a new mission for the base which the White House has said President Obama is ‘committed’ to. The men and women at Mansfield have the experience and the skills to take on this mission. I will continue working to ensure that Mansfield remains a critical hub in our nation’s security.”

On August 1, 2012, White House spokesman Josh Earnest stated that the President was “committed to working with the Department of Defense to find a mission for Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base.”

Along with fighting tirelessly to find Mansfield a new mission, Brown has consistently stood against proposals to eliminate the C-27J program, which would affect hundreds of National Guard positions.

Earlier this month, Brown applauded the Senate’s approval of the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization (NDAA) bill, which includes a “strategic pause” for the Air Force proposal to end the C-27J flying mission at Mansfield for at least a year. Brown has also written separate letters to President Obama urging him not to eliminate the C-27J program, and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, urging him to delay a decision on the future of the C-27J program until he met with all relevant stakeholders and fully considered the ramifications of ending the C-27J procurement.

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 new, $16 million facility used for administrative, storage, and training purposes. It also houses the 3rd Platoon of the Army Reserve 486th Engineers.

Brown visited the base in October 2011 to tour the new Armed Forces Reserve Center and Rapid Engineers Deployable Heavy Operations Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) facility. He also visited the base in August 2010 to celebrate a new mission for the 179th Airlift Wing.

In 2005, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) recommended that the 179th Airlift Wing be dismantled.  The base’s service record, along with actions taken by the Ohio Congressional delegation, kept the base open and transformed it into a joint base. Brown has worked with the White House, Administration officials and Air Force and National Guard personnel to secure the new mission for the Mansfield ANGB.     

 

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