[CPEO-MEF] Moffett's air rescue wing considers move

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California
MERCURY NEWS
Moffett's air rescue wing considers move
High Living Costs Prompt Plan; Neighbors Gearing up to Fight Relocation
By Joshua L. Kwan
Tue, Jul. 08, 2003

_From the giant airships that patrolled the West Coast before World War
II to the modern P-3 Orion submarine hunters, Moffett Field has been
home to military planes since the 1930s.

But if a plan devised by the California National Guard comes to pass,
the base's last military flying unit -- the 129th Rescue Wing's four
planes, six helicopters and 850 personnel -- would permanently relocate
to an abandoned base in the Central Valley.

The proposal has drawn fire from the Bay Area's congressional
delegation, and fierce opposition from surrounding communities. They
cite the threat of terrorism and the potential for a seismic disaster as
reasons for keeping nearby the search and rescue unit that most recently
saw duty in the war against Iraq.

Led by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, 10 Bay Area congressmen on Monday
sent U.S. Air Force Secretary James Roche a three-page letter voicing
strenuous opposition to the plan.

In addition to the concerns over national security and natural
disasters, Eshoo, the congressional delegation and local politicians all
have expressed dismay over possibly wasting millions of taxpayer
dollars.

In 1999, Eshoo helped secure $16 million to build a new hangar at
Moffett Field for the National Guard, which would no longer use the
facility if it moves to Castle Air Force Base near Atwater.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6255763.htm

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