866 jobs saved at Springfield air base
Dayton Daily News – WASHINGTON —The Pentagon said Friday, May 7, that it would assign a unit of MQ-1 Predator aircraft to the Springfield Air National Guard base, a move which will shift the base’s mission to unmanned aircraft and allow the base to retain 866 jobs.
The move, first made public by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland, and Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, will keep the base open and save hundreds of jobs. The base’s future had been threatened by the pending departure in September 2010 of Dutch pilots being trained to fly the F-16 fighter.
In addition, the Pentagon will expand the National Air and Space Intelligence Center to Springfield. The intelligence center will retain its headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Brown said in a statement that “this new mission will allow the talented men and women of the Springfield base to continue to serve our nation. The base now has a bright future and will no longer rely on temporary missions to remain open.’’
