The Pennsylvania governor speaks at the Moon Township-based air wing, urging military officials to scrap plans to shutter the base.
Standing beneath the wings of a C-130 aircraft at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said he would work with Pennsylvania's federal lawmakers to fight renewed plans to close the Moon Township air base. Corbett, appearing alongside Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and state Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, implored military officials and federal lawmakers to end efforts to close the 911th as a cost-saving measure. "I'm going to ask our (Pennsylvania) congressional delegation to do whatever they need to do to save this base," Corbett said. The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013—the expiration of a law put in …
Despite Friday's announcement that the 911th Airlift Wing will close because of budget cuts, local and regional officials say they will work to keep the base open.
Lawmakers representing Moon and local leaders Friday vowed to fight a renewed effort by the U.S. Air Force to close the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon and move or retire its aircraft over the next two years. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, said he will do everything in his power to keep the airlift wing open, arguing that closing it would not be fiscally responsible. Echoing that pledge was U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, noting that closing the base and potentially shifting its troops and their families elsewhere would have a negative impact on Western Pennsylvania's economy. "I am extremely disappointed that the Air Force is considering closing the 911th Airlift Wing. I will do everything I can to ensure this facility remains…
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