Monday, July 2, 2012
Defense Secretary Panetta halts aircraft retirements at base until Congress takes action.
Update: Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, announced today that the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township will remain open for at least one more year, following a directive from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Panetta directed Air Force officials to delay any aircraft transfers or retirements until Congress takes action on the measure. The Secretary toured the 911th in June. The reprieve will maintain more than 1,100 military and 300 civilian jobs at the air base. From the Congressman: “This is welcome news for our region’s military families and an important recognition of the role Congress must play in authorizing base closures and major changes to our military’s structure. Even with this decision, our efforts are not finished, and I’m …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Supporters of the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township await Vice President Joe Biden's arrival.
Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Moon Township today to fly out of the 911th Airlift Wing, where he was met by supporters of the soon-to-be shuttered Air Force Reserve base. Biden appeared at a campaign stop earlier in the day at Youngstown, Ohio's M-7 Technologies factory, where he talked growth in the manufacturing industry and railed against Republican opponent Mitt Romney, according to the Toledo Blade. His motorcade traveled east from the Mahoning Valley to Moon Township's 911th Airlift Wing, where Air Force Two awaited him shortly after 4 p.m. Also waiting for him were supporters of the Moon-based wing, which has been pegged for closure as a part of a Pentagon plan to cut the Air Force's 2013 budget by $8.7 billion. Under the …
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Military supporters gathered Saturday at a rally to protest the Air Force's planned closure of the 911th Airlift Wing.
Hundreds of military supporters gathered earlier today on Airside Drive in Moon to protest the planned 2013 closure of the 911th Airlift Wing. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, as well as members of Moon Township's Board of Supervisors were among those who gathered in Airport Cargo Building A to express opposition to the Air Force's decision to shutter the base. Despite its recently announced plans to close the Moon-based airlift wing, the Air Force has invested more than $58 million in infrastructure at the base in the past five years, according to Murphy's recent testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. The base will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday to mark the opening of Building 226…
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Veterans and local officials protest the planned closing of one Moon Township military base and reductions at another.
The region's military supporters joined county and national officials Tuesday night in Pittsburgh to protest the planned closure of the Moon-based 911th Airlift Wing. More than 150 veterans and others gathered at a rally at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland to urge U.S. military officials to reconsider closing the airlift wing The Air Force announced plans earlier this year to shutter the 911th in 2013, eliminating 1,100 military and 280 civilian jobs in the move. The neighboring 171st Refueling Wing also has been targeted for realignment and personnel layoffs. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, stood alongside U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, and Allegheny …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
More than 1,400 military and civilian jobs are slated to be eliminated in the decision.
The U.S. Air Force announced Tuesday that it will move forward with plans to close the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township as part of a national restructuring plan. The Air Force plans to reduce personnel based in Pennsylvania by 25 percent as a part of the measure. Closing the 911th—the only U.S. base to be shuttered under the plan—will eliminate as many as 281 civilian and 1,122 military positions at the base. Each of the 911th's eight C-130 tactical aircraft also will be retired under the plan. The Air Force in February announced its intention to close the base in fiscal year 2013. The Air Force will also retire four of its KC-135 refueling tankers at the neighboring 171st Refueling Wing and reduce aircraft at multiple Air Force …
Be
10:17 pm on Monday, May 7, 2012
Have to close it. Can't afford it. Don't need it. The country cant make decisions based on the wants of a few hundred people. Everyone wants to cut spending etc etc etc until the ax falls to them, might effect their next election. Then its spend spend spend. The people in the military arent going to lose their jobs. They will just get moved somewhere else. Nobody buys anything from the 911th air … more ›