Vital funding for local air base clears the House; Senate is next

For the short-term viability and the long-term survival of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township, last week’s approval by the U.S. House of Representatives of $9.4 million for a new state-of-the-art firing range portends a lofty future for YARS.

For the short term, the proposed firing range will catapult firearms training at the base into the 21st century. The indoor facility will replace a partially covered outdoor range that, at more than 30 years old, has far outlived its optimal usefulness.

“The new one is a fully indoor firing range that allows us to shoot all the weapons that we use, whether it’s shotguns or heavy weapons, right down to just our regular side arms,” said Col. James Dignan, commander of the the 910th Airlift Wing at YARS. As such, it represents a major investment in the base’s capability to offer stellar marksmanship instruction to thousands of military personnel.

For the long term, the enhancement will give the airbase more firepower to sustain the next round of Base Realignment and Closings, expected in 2017 as proposed by the Defense Department and the Obama administration. Not only will the new range give cutting-edge instruction to thousands of military reserve personnel, it also will tower as a community asset. That’s because plans call for its use to be shared with a wealth of civilian law-enforcement agencies throughout the region.

The double-barreled military-community impact of that significant and new investment will fortify a growing list of links between the base and Valley governments and institutions, including the YARS partnerships with Youngstown State University for military training and Mercy Health for medical instruction. Collectively, these bonds undoubtedly will strengthen the standing of YARS in the eyes of the number-crunchers who will evaluate which bases will stand and which will fall a short two years from now.

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, worked in the powerful House Appropriations Committee to ensure funding for the airbase and an additional $3.3 million for a modified record firing range at Camp Ravenna in Trumbull and Portage counties remained intact in the bill before its full House vote last week.

Before that vote, Ryan spoke of the importance of the local appropriations: “This funding will give our airmen and soldiers the training facilities necessary to remain combat ready and complete their missions. Each and every day, the men and women stationed in Youngstown and Camp Ravenna put their lives on the line for our safety and it is our job to give them the resources they need. ”

Those vital resources cleared a major hurdle late last week when the $77 billion 2016 House Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, or MIL-CON, won passage by a 255-163 largely party-line vote.

The resolution is now in a U.S. Senate committee where we hope it gains equally rapid traction. We’re counting on the continued staunch support of YARS from Ohio’s senators — Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown — to ensure the funding is maintained and to work toward resolving Democrats’ disputes over veterans funding when it reaches a conference committee.

The funding for the Valley air base also reinforces the importance of YARS as a robust economic engine for the Mahoning Valley, given the 1,500 jobs it fills and the $100 million impact it has on Valley commerce. As such, approval of the funding would represent a win-win proposition for the livelihood, security and vitality of our nation and our region.