Letters from Rep. Mark Souder to Chairman and Commissioners (3May05) Page: 1 of 6
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WASH I N GTON, D. C, 205SI15
MARK E. Sou DER
THIRD DI5TRICIT2t G
IIAA icV , 2-, ORIGINAL
Dear Comlassioner Principi:
As you prepare to review the list of recomn mended base closures and realignriments,
I wanted to draw your attention to a few oF the reasons why Fort \WVavyne. Indiana, should
remain the home oF the 122"' Air National Guard Fighter Wing.
The people of Noriheast Indiana are highly v patriotic, and this is reflected iin the
fact that it has one ol the hialhe st mIilitarv rccrtLitint, rates in the country. "nArmy recruiting
rates have consistentlyI bee in the top Y (). in the coLinti-ry and the Fort Wayne Air
National Guard ranks 9th in recruiting out of all Air National Guard bases in the country.
It is presently at nearly 104% of its manning strength. These high recruiting rates. in
addition to the area's large highly-skilled work force, rnake lFort Wayne a prime location
for maintaining and potentially expanding tile 122 d Fighter Win g.
Another sign i lcant advantage of the 1 22"' is its co-location ~with the Fort Wayne
International Airport, a Level 7 airport with an FAA flight tlow er that operates 24 hours a
dlay, seven days a week. The co-location within the airport allow s the National Guard to
utilize the excellent runways at a nominal cost, saving the military money in the long-run.
The 12.000-foot rt;rnwav is the longest commercial runway in the state and can be used by
all sizes of planes. Additionally. the airport has reserved 90 acres adjacent to the base for
use by the military, ensLrin~g there will never be any land encroachmenlt issues should the
base iced to expand.
I understand you w\ill be making, very difficult decisions in the comnlinQg weeks and
ask thatL you ,ive stro ig consideration to keeping the 1 22i Fighter Wing intact in Fort
M aV ic, Indiana. I haxe \c e rc[osed additional inftbrinationonni the base lbr your review.
Sincerely .
Mrk Souder
,Meniber of Congress
L/
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Letters from Rep. Mark Souder to Chairman and Commissioners (3May05), letter, June 7, 2005; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc14981/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.