"This is a great day for the entire region because Scott Air
Force Base gets to continue doing what it does best -- serving our
country with distinction," Gov. Blagojevich said. "We traveled to
Washington numerous times to meet with top Pentagon leaders and
highlighted Scott's tremendous military value because we know saving
this base is the right decision for the United States. We are also
fighting to save Scott for the thousands and thousands of
hardworking men and women that are defending our country by coming
to work here every day. But this coordinated campaign with the
Illinois congressional delegation, state and local officials isn't
over. We must continue presenting our compelling case to the BRAC
Commission and the Department of Defense about why Scott must remain
open and why it is poised for expansion."
U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.,
U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. John Shimkus,
R-Ill., along with other state and
local officials, joined Gov. Blagojevich at the announcement.
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Since the earliest days of his administration, Gov. Blagojevich
has relentlessly advocated for Scott's retention and expansion.
Those efforts include:
- To help ensure the state made the strongest case possible from
the outset to save Scott, Gov. Blagojevich hired a military affairs
specialist to help present Scott's compelling case to the Department of
the Defense.
- On July 11, 2003, Gov. Blagojevich supported and signed
encroachment legislation to protect Scott from outside
development.
- On Dec. 2, 2004, Gov. Blagojevich traveled to the Pentagon to
meet with Nelson Gibbs, the assistant secretary of the Air Force
for installations and environment, the service's chief
installations officer, about Scott.
- On Feb. 14, 2005, Gov. Blagojevich sent Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin for an
important meeting with Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for
Installations and Environment Phil Grone, the Pentagon's point
person on base closings. As part of a comprehensive partnership,
St. Clair County Board Chair Mark Kern and Leadership Council
Southwest Illinois Executive Director Jim Pennekamp also were
invited on the trip by the governor and were in attendance.
- On April 6, 2005, Gov. Blagojevich signed Executive Order No.
2005-4, directing all state land-use planning agencies to
coordinate with Illinois military installations in order to
maintain and improve the bases' immense military value. The order
ensures that when the Department of Defense comes to Illinois
seeking to expand, the state stands ready and willing to meet its
needs.
- Gov. Blagojevich has worked with the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency to develop a positive, proactive approach to air
quality issues in the Metro East area that could have affected
development at Scott.
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Gov. Blagojevich is continuing the strong partnerships that have
existed between the state of Illinois, the congressional delegation
and the local community to preserve and strengthen Scott Air Force
Base, and he will keep working to let the commission know that
Illinois will assist in any way possible to bring new missions to
the base. Scott Air Force Base is a major joint command headquarters base
located in St. Clair County. It is home to the United States
Transportation Command and the Air Mobility Command. Scott is also
home to the 18th Air Force Headquarters, 375th Airlift Wing, the
932nd Reserve Airlift Wing and the 126th Air National Guard
Refueling Wing.
The United States Transportation Command, the largest
transportation enterprise in the world, was established in 1987 and
is one of nine U.S. unified commands. As the single manager of
America's global defense transportation system, the command is
tasked with the coordination of people and transportation assets to
allow our country to project and sustain forces, whenever, wherever
and for as long as they are needed. Air Mobility Command, the air
component, is also headquartered at Scott Air Force Base. AMC has
the primary mission for providing all of the armed services with
airlift, aerial refueling, special air missions and aeromedical
evacuation. AMC also contracts and controls the command contracts
for commercial airlifts for the Department of Defense.
Scott is centrally located with excellent facilities that have
growth capability. The construction of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
as a joint-use facility adjacent to the base added a new 10,000-foot
runway, a parallel taxiway, and renovated and extended Scott's
runway to 8,000 feet. In addition, a new state-of-the-art FAA
traffic control tower was added as the last link in the ability to
handle more with maximum safety.
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The BRAC Commission will submit its closure recommendations to
the president by Sept. 8. President Bush has until Sept. 23 to
accept or reject the recommendations in their entirety. The
president then must submit the list to Congress by Nov. 7, who must
also approve or disapprove the list in its entirety.
[News release]
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