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BRAC Commission
August 2005 AUG 1 2005 The Honorable Anthony 3. Principi, Commissioner Receivei Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission 2521 S. Clark St., Ste. 600 Arlington, VA 22202 Dear Chairman Principi, I am deeply troubled by the Department of Defense's recommendation to realign the 130th Airlift Wing. This recommendation is a terrible mistake built on false information, and I thank each of the commissioners for every effort made in order to allow the 130th Airlift Wing to present the truth. I believe the Department of Defense collected information that was biased against the Air National Guard and slanted to favor large, expensive military bases. The National Guard Headquarters indicated Charleston has a maximum capacity of 8 C-130s, disregarding the unit's master plan and current aircraft parking configuration of 12 C-130s, as well as the relatively inexpensive cost that would be incurred in expanding to a 16 C-130 configuration. The 130 AW was written off as an unreasonable expense! The BRAC law states that the BRAC Commission may make changes in any of the recommendations made by Secretary Rumsfeld and the Department of Defense if the commission determines that the Secretary deviated substantially from the selection criteria in making these recommendations. I believe our unit's representatives successfully demonstrated a deviation from the criteria in their presentation at the BRAC hearing in Charlotte. I understand that each commissioner must face difficult decisions - every decision and every vote affects families across the country. But, thus far, I have found the panel's questions and methods to be both fair and balanced, and for that, I thank you. As the commission's voting date of August 22 fast approaches, I urge you to continue in your efforts to discover the truth about this wonderful unit and allow this unit to continue with the mission it has unselfishly devoted itself to for the last 58 years. Sincerely, (Concerned Citizen) (Address) (City, State, Zip)
Community Correspondence - Letters from Stephen R. Amis - 130th Airlift Wing of West Virginia Air National Guard,
letter,
August 26, 2005;
(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc23253/m1/2/:
accessed July 18, 2024),
University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu;
crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.