674 letters from local citizens in support of Niagara USAF Reserve Base Page: 100 of 674
This letter is part of the collection entitled: Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
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June 2005
une 2005 3 RAC Coinission
BRAC Commission
co NIMAC
P.O. Box 231
Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0231
August 8, 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 base whose unit was able
to help rescue Jessica Lynch in Iraq because they are the lead night vision C-130 unit in the
Reserves? You must also recognize:
1 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 100% manning rates.
4 Niagara Falls' existing infrastructure can accommodate eight (8) additional C-130H
model aircraftwithout 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, 'I 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.
Sincerely,
Name
Address (mandato )
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674 letters from local citizens in support of Niagara USAF Reserve Base, letter, August 16, 2005; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc20691/m1/100/?rotate=90: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.