Pittsburgh Visit

Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning today will tour a Pennsylvania base that the service attempted to remove aircraft from and mark for closure last year.

That base, Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, PA, is home to the 911th Airlift Wing and 171st Air Refueling Wing. Fanning is expected to assess the capabilities and assets of Pittsburgh IAP ARS during today's tour, according to a July 23 press statement.

Fanning's visit comes not long after Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) launched a successful campaign against an Air Force plan to retire several C-130 cargo aircraft stationed at Pittsburgh IAP ARS in its fiscal year 2013 budget request. The request called for the retirement of about 300 planes over a five-year period. Murphy told Inside the Air Force in early 2012 that he was concerned the plan to remove cargo planes from Pittsburgh IAP ARS would give the service the leeway it needed to close the base.

Perturbed by what he felt was a lack of analysis conducted by the Air Force before it targeted the cargo aircraft for retirement, Murphy tasked Pennsylvania State Auditor Jack Wagner to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for the service. Murphy also confronted Air Force Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. James Jackson late last year about the service's attempt to close the base during a meeting with fellow Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle (D). During that meeting, Jackson revealed to the congressmen that the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard were instructed by high-ranking officials to evaluate for closure all facilities with fewer than 300 civilian employees, and that the 911th Airlift Wing was targeted because “it was the easiest route to take,” according to a Nov. 27 statement.