The state’s top military man and a U.S. senator say military officials in Washington state were not consulted before the Pentagon recommended removal of the only fighter air-defense squadron in the Northwest.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the Defense Department plan is like “turning on your home security system and leaving the front door open. We need every opportunity to eradicate security threats before it’s too late.”
Of concern is the proposed relocation of 15 Oregon Air National Guard F-15 fighters to New Jersey and Louisiana. They’re the only combat-ready fighters in the Northwest, and they were aloft patrolling potential targets in the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Since then, the Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing, based at Portland International Airport, has periodically patrolled the skies over Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.
The Pentagon also recommended moving all eight refueling tankers of the 939th Air Force Reserve wing, also based in Portland, and eight tankers assigned to the 141st Air National Guard wing at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane.
Cantwell and Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, Washington National Guard commander and homeland security adviser to Gov. Christine Gregoire, question whether the effects of the plan have been fully reviewed. They have sent a message to a panel that will have a crucial role in deciding whether the recommendations will go forward, the independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
Their message is that military officials in Washington, D.C., didn’t seek advice from Lowenberg or other top military people in the state. They say the effects haven’t been fully explored, and the Northwest will be left vulnerable to air attack.
Earlier, the commission asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to testify whether states were consulted before the Pentagon made the closure recommendations.
“We believe that the (Defense Department) should have done more to consult with state leaders in devising its recommendations, and (it) does not fully understand the homeland security impacts these realignments will have on our region and nation,” Cantwell said in a letter to Anthony Principi, commission chairman.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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