Jordan: Mansfield In The Running For Guard Training Mission
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) welcomed the Air Force's announcement that Mansfield Lahm Airport, home of the Ohio Air National Guard's 179th Airlift Wing, is one of two finalists in the competition to receive the C-27J formal training unit (FTU) mission.
"Today's announcement affirms the important role that the 179th has played in our national defense and homeland security efforts for more than 60 years," Jordan said. "Locating all C-27J training activities in Mansfield would greatly benefit not only the men and women of the 179th but the National Guard as a whole."
In a statement today, Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton A. Schwartz said that either Mansfield Lahm or Key Field Air Guard Station in Meridian, Mississippi, will conduct training operations for the new C-27J mid-range cargo plane. In the coming months, the Air Force will conduct surveys and environmental impact analyses at the two bases to gauge their suitability for the mission. A final decision is expected in December.
The 179th is already slated to be the first unit in the nation to receive a C-27J mission, with the first planes expected to arrive in August.
Since taking office in 2007, Jordan has made the C-27J program a top priority. He has expressed his strong support for bringing the FTU to Mansfield to his House colleagues and top Air Force and National Guard officials, citing Mansfield Lahm's two runways, clear airspace, and lack of competing commercial carriers as suitable for C-27J training. He joined Mansfield's Guardsmen in promoting the 179th's unique qualifications to General Raymond E. Johns, Jr., Commander of the Air Force's Air Mobility Command, during his visit to Mansfield last November.
"Tens of millions of federal infrastructure dollars have been invested at Mansfield Lahm in the last decade," Jordan said. "That fact, coupled with strong community support for the Guard and the vast military experience of Mansfield's Guardsmen, makes Mansfield the ideal location for this training mission."
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