Mansfield News Journal – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is questioning the U.S. Department of Defense’s announcement that it will retire the C-27J aircraft from operations in Afghanistan.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Brown wrote that the department’s calculations of the operation and maintenance costs for the aircraft were flawed.

“Slashing the C-27J program — which is essential to the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield — would be an enormous mistake and detrimental to our national security,” Brown, D-Ohio, said in a new release Wednesday.