Durbin: Springfield Air National Guard Base Should Not Be Realigned

DURBIN: SPRINGFIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE SHOULD NOT BE REALIGNED

Durbin Will Work to Keep 183rd Fighter Wing's F-16s in Springfield

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today expressed serious concerns over today's decision by the U.S. Department of Defense to include Springfield's Capital Airport Air National Guard Station on the list of military bases recommended for realignment in the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Durbin noted that not only is the Defense Department's rationale for Springfield's realignment questionable, the federal government does not have the legal authority to shift resources among National Guard Bases in different states.

"The Defense Department's proposed realignment of the Springfield Air National Guard Base, home of the 183rd Fighter Wing, is bad for the State of Illinois, a detriment to national security, and not permitted under current law," said Durbin. "The Constitution explicitly gives states the authority to train the militia and appoint its officers. Under federal law, any proposal to close or realign National Guard bases must have the consent of that state's governor. The federal government has not secured that consent, and should immediately remove Springfield from the list."

"Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has already indicated that she intends to file suit against the Defense Department to prevent any unlawful action to realign our state's National Guard bases, and I strongly support that effort," Durbin said. "I will also continue to work with Mayor Tim Davlin, Congressman Ray LaHood, Senator Obama, Governor Blagojevich and other community leaders to ensure that the BRAC Commissioners hear our message loud and clear: Springfield Air National Guard Base should not be realigned."

Durbin joined U.S. Representative Ray LaHood (R-IL) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) earlier this year in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stating that federal law does not permit the closure or realignment of National Guard Bases without the consent of the state's governor.

Durbin noted that the Springfield Air National Guard Base has critical military and homeland security functions. The 183rd Fighter Wing has been deployed four times since 1996 to the Middle East to fly patrol missions with their F-16 fighter aircraft. In March 2002, the unit deployed to Kuwait to fly patrol missions in the no-fly zone in Southern Iraq and sorties over Afghanistan. In addition, the location of the Springfield Air National Guard base puts fighter aircraft in easy range for the protection of both Chicago and St. Louis were they to be threatened with a terrorist attack.

The Defense Department proposes to realign Springfield's Capital Airport Air Guard Station by distributing the 183rd's fifteen F-16s to the 122nd Fighter Wing of Fort Wayne, Indiana to replace the same number of planes being retired from the Fort Wayne International Airport Air Guard Station. Durbin noted that this appears to violate the central principle of the BRAC process - military value. Springfield has been ranked higher in military value than Fort Wayne by the Defense Department's own assessments. Taking assets from the higher-ranked base in Illinois and moving them to Indiana seems to be in violation of BRAC's basic criteria of increasing military value.

Base Realignment and Closure is the congressionally-authorized procedure for the closure of U.S. military installations. The Department of Defense makes its recommendations to a bipartisan BRAC Commission appointed by Congressional leaders and the President. The BRAC Commission is required to make its final recommendations to Congress on closures and realignments by October of this year. The Commission's recommendations must be voted down or accepted as a whole by the House and the Senate within 45 days.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=237661&&