520 letters from local citizens in support of Niagara USAF Reserve Base Page: 4 of 520
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June 2005 BRAC Commission
BRAC Commission
c/o NIMAC
P.O. Box 231
Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0231 Au
August ~, 2005
Dear Chairman Principi and BRAC Commissioners:
I am deeply troubled by the Defense Department's recommendation to close the Niagara
Falls Air Force Reserve Base. This recommendation is a terrible mistake and I urge the
BRAC Commission to reverse this decision and remove the Niagara Falls Base from the
list.
It is hard to understand why the Air Force has decided to take planes, missions, and jobs
away from so many Air Guard and Air Reserve bases and put them on more costly Active
Duty bases. Of all the bases to pick to close, how do you close the chase whose unit was able
to help rescue Jessica I.ynch in Iraq because they are the lead night vision C-I 30( unit in the
Reserves? You must also recognize:
I The federal government has invested more than $35 million in Niagara Falls since
1995 in new facilities.
2 Base Operations Support costs have been reduced more than 33% (to include a 25%
reduction in utilities) to make the base one of the most cost-efficient facilities in the
Air Force Reserve Command.
3 Closure of the base eliminates the ability to recruit and retain New Yorkers in a
region in which the units have both maintained in excess of 10 0% manning rates.
4 Niagara Falls ex isting infrastructure can accommodate eight (8) additional C-130H
model aircraft without any military construction.
5 Niagara Falls faces no physical encroachment nor air traffic control constraints and
has acreage on the base and adjacent to the installation for expansion.
I urge the Commission, in the strongest possible terms, to remove the Niagara Falls AFB
from the Pentagon's recommended list of base closures and to stop the continuing retreat of
the military from our region of the country.
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520 letters from local citizens in support of Niagara USAF Reserve Base, letter, August 16, 2005; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc20690/m1/4/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.