YOUNGSTOWN DOD adviser offers ways to keep air base

The mission of the 910th Airlift Wing is not at risk. The issue is keeping it here.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Community support, viability of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, and a plan of action are vital to saving the Youngstown Air Reserve Station should it be targeted for closure by the Department of Defense, an adviser with the Ohio Department of Development said.
The Air Force Reserve Station, which houses the 910th Air Lift Wing and small Navy and Marine Corps reserve units, through jobs and contracts for services has about a $100 million annual impact on the local economy.
However, looming over the air base in Vienna, and all other Department of Defense properties, is Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005, which is DOD's fifth round of evaluating its needs. It will recommend personnel and facility levels, which officials believe will include a large number of base closings.
The community support cog of Operation: Save the Airbase met Tuesday at Youngstown State University's Kilcawley Center to get advice from Richard A. Browning on garnering community support and formulating a plan of action to save the air base.
A fundamental task of this group is to put the issue of stable funding for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport "completely to bed," said Browning, who is aerospace and defense adviser for the Ohio Department of Development's Technology Division.
Making a case
After that, it will come down to making a case for the Youngstown air base as the lowest cost option for providing facilities for the 910th, he said.
The mission of the 910th is not at risk. The issue is whether it will remain in Vienna or be moved someplace else, Browning said.
Browning, a retired Air Force general, said the Youngstown base has several things in its favor.
"The 910th is one of the premier Air Force wings in the country. It is a very, very good installation with a very important mission," he said.
Browning told the committee it is critical to understand DOD's criteria for downsizing when they are finalized in 2004, and how they might affect the Youngstown air base.
"You have to know the criteria in order to build a case for why you should stay open and not the other guy," he said.
He recommended that the committee immediately develop a list of Department of Defense facilities that were targeted for closure by BRAC 2001, but survived.
He said the idea is to identify the weaknesses of those facilities and see if there is some way to make that work to the advantage of the Youngstown base.
Other units possible
Browning advised the committee to look for other military units and operations that would fit with the 910th and the air base infrastructure and attempt to bring them here. It doesn't have to be Air Force. It could be any military operation, he said.
Browning assured the committee that the other communities would be employing the same strategies to make sure they survive BRAC.
Stationed there
The 910th Airlift Wing has 16 Lockheed C-130H2 Hercules transport and cargo aircraft and two flying squadrons, the 757th and the 773rd, and numerous support squadrons. The 757th includes the only full-time fixed-wing aerial spray mission. The Vienna air base is home to about 1,500 Air Force reservists, 290 Air Force Reserve technicians; 190 Air Force civilian employees, and 292 Naval and Marine Corps Reserve personnel.