ICYMI: Rep. Hudson Speaks Out Against Proposed Deactivation of 440th Airlift Wing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2014
ICYMI: Rep. Hudson Speaks Out Against Proposed Deactivation of 440th Airlift Wing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) took to the House Floor to discuss his concern over the proposed deactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing.
Yesterday, Rep. Hudson and fellow members of the North Carolina delegation sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey expressing their concern. To read the entire letter, please click here.
To view the video, please click here.
The transcript is below:
I have grave concerns about the proposed deactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing located at Pope Army Airfield contained in the President’s budget.
The 440th is absolutely critical to conducting the type of training that both Airborne and Special Operations forces located at “the epicenter of the universe,” Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, rely on to conduct the high risk missions they’re charged with in combat.
Beyond the immediate hit on readiness, the retirement will have a direct impact of over 1,200 service members and their families directly associated with the unit.
While I understand that we face challenging fiscal times I expect the department to take a broad approach when it comes to find savings. While retiring a particular airframe may make sense on paper it is incredibly important to take into account the value of a joint force structure.
I find it hard to believe that out of state units can have the same quality of training and operations as the units who have built long term relationships with commanders on the ground.
Additionally, cutting Ft. Bragg’s airborne operations by an estimated 23% could further erode our readiness at a time when the United States simply cannot afford it, eliminating the ability to rapidly mobilize, train, and deploy with local commanders, aircrews, and aircraft that have an established relationship with our most in-demand forces increases risk at an unacceptable rate.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to prevent these devastating cuts to our forces.
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