Letters from Brittany Defoor to the Commission dtd 23 May 2005 Page: 3 of 8
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DCN: 4159
The Honorable Philip Coyle
BRAC Commission
2521 South Clark Street, Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22202
May 23, 2005
Dear Honorable Coyle"
I am a member of the great community of Cannon AFB/Clovis, NM. This is my home.
My family, friends, church, artd livelihood are all encompassed in this little town close to
the Texas border. This is the place where I want to raise my children and to see my
grandchildren come to later in life. I have two small children and a husband that call
Clovis home. My husband wLas xrn and raised in Clovis, so we have a lot of history and
memories. My son goes to the same elementary school that he did. We love our town.
You see Honorable Coyle, Cannon AFB/Clovis is a town that lives and breathes. it is not
just a place on the map and a place for the government to forget about. I know that it has
been recommended that Cannon AFB he closed. Let me give you some reasons why this
is not in the best interest of our country.
Please consider the following:
* Cannon clearly does not fit the criteria provided for base closure.
* The base has an abundance of air space and no encroachment issues. This
provides for safer and more realistic training scenarios for pilots. If a plane were
to go down during a training mission, all they would hit would be a cactus, sand,
and maybe a cow. This is not available anywhere else in the United States.
* Once the New Mexico Training Range Initiative is implemented, we will be able
to offer pilots the abiliy to fly supersonic during training missions. This is a very
important point, as it allows the Air Force to better train for real-life situations. It
is my understanding that this could be final in a few short weeks.
* The weather in Eastern New Mexico provides year round training ability. We
have four mild seasons with numerous weather conditions needed to train in.
* The Melrose bombing range is seconds from the end of the runway at Cannon.
This allows pilots to get airborne, and immediately begin training operations over
the bombing range, rather than spending all of their fuel just to get to the range,
having one pass over, and then returning to the base.
* Cannon has the space and facilities to accommodate joint war-fighting, training,
and readiness as was evidenced by the recent joint training effort between Cannon
and the US Navy.
* Millions of dollars have been spent recently on new nmways, housing, office
facilities and control tower.
* Cost of living and utilities are very reasonable in Clovis, NM.
F~R ~RE~Yi!FD
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Letters from Brittany Defoor to the Commission dtd 23 May 2005, letter, July 11, 2005; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc16858/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.