DeWine lobbies for missile-defense site in Ravenna

RAVENNA — Gov. Mike DeWine today sent a letter to acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to urge the Department of Defense to designate Camp James A. Garfield as the third Continental United States Interceptor Site.

Earlier this year, the Missile Defense Review discussed the need for a ballistic missile-defense site and suggested Camp Garfield as a potential location.

If selected, the project would create 2,300 construction jobs and once operational it would directly employ 850 with an additional 340 indirect workers.

“The economic impact can be immense for a region that was devastated by the closure of the Lordstown auto plant,” DeWine said. “We in Ohio want to work, to contribute, and to lend value to our national defense. I can think of no better way to accomplish those goals than selection of Camp Garfield as the East Coast missile interceptor site.”