Community Correspondence - 479 Form Letters from Concerned Citizens - Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve Base New York Page: 1 of 479
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.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
DCN 7890
June 2005 ..t' (.orminio
BRAC Commission 406 G 8 2005
c/o NIMAC
P.O. Box 231 Received
Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0231
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 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.
Sincerely,
Address (mandatory)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This letter can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Letter.
Community Correspondence - 479 Form Letters from Concerned Citizens - Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve Base New York, letter, August 20, 2005; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc21155/m1/1/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.