{"id":7001,"date":"2021-05-19T19:02:49","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T19:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/press-releases\/senators-ossoff-reverend-warnock-applaud-air-force-decision-honoring-commitment-to-modernize-critical-savannah-based-military-air-fleet\/"},"modified":"2021-09-14T20:21:06","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T20:21:06","slug":"senators-ossoff-reverend-warnock-applaud-air-force-decision-honoring-commitment-to-modernize-critical-savannah-based-military-air-fleet","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/senators-ossoff-reverend-warnock-applaud-air-force-decision-honoring-commitment-to-modernize-critical-savannah-based-military-air-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators Ossoff, Reverend Warnock Applaud Air Force Decision Honoring Commitment to Modernize Critical Savannah-Based Military Air Fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"

USAF confirmed today that Savannah and the Georgia Air<\/em> National<\/em> Guard is on track to receive new, strategic C-130J planes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

USAF decision follows Senator Warnock\u2019s efforts<\/a> to apply pressure on senior Air Force department leaders to not divert C-130J<\/em> planes that were promised to Savannah Air<\/em> National<\/em> Guard Base<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savannah Air National Guard Base home to important 165th<\/sup> Air Wing, which is currently flying older C-130H planes for tactical airlift, airdrop missions <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Warnock also previously pressed this issue with Acting Air Force Secretary Roth<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICYMI\u2014Fox 28 Savannah<\/u><\/em>: \u201cSen. Warnock urges national security leaders to keep investment in Savannah Air<\/em> National<\/em> Guard Base\u201d \u2013 MORE HERE<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Warnock:<\/u><\/em> \u201cI\u2019m going to keep fighting to make sure our servicemembers and military communities are getting the support they need from Washington to protect our country and local jobs\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator Ossoff<\/u><\/em>: \u201cThe men and women of the 165th Air Wing have the deep gratitude of all Georgians for their vital work defending our nation\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C<\/strong>. \u2013\u00a0U.S. Senators\u00a0Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) announced that the United States Air Force (USAF) confirmed today that the Savannah Air Guard Base and Georgia Air Guard are on track to receive several new, strategic C-130J planes, which has been a priority for the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, as well as Georgia\u2019s Air\u00a0National Guard and\u00a0the\u00a0Coastal Georgia\u00a0defense community. The decision follows a commitment from the federal government made to Georgia to\u00a0replace\u00a0the base\u2019s aging C-130H airplane fleet with more modern C-130J aircraft, and comes after Senator Warnock\u00a0urged<\/a>\u00a0senior national security leaders to reconsider any proposal that would reverse\u00a0or amend\u00a0the federal government\u2019s decision to modernize the air fleet at the Savannah Air National Guard Base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad the federal government listened to Georgians, and is planning to keep its promise to the Savannah Air<\/em><\/strong> National<\/em><\/strong> Guard Base and the brave men and women serving at the Georgia Air National Guard,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>Senator Warnock said. \u201cThese<\/em><\/strong> modern aircraft, which are also built in Georgia,<\/em><\/strong> can\u2019t come quickly enough to support critical national security missions out of our state, and I\u2019m going to keep fighting to make sure our servicemembers and military communities are getting the support they need from Washington to protect our country and local jobs.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Rev. Warnock and I are pleased to announce the Air Force today confirmed that Savannah Air National Guard Base will be the home to new C-130J aircraft. The men and women of the 165th Air Wing have the deep gratitude of all Georgians for their vital work defending our nation,\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Senator Ossoff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vocal champion<\/a> for locating the C-130Js in Savannah, Senator Warnock had previously advocated for this decision, underscoring in a letter<\/a> to senior USAF officials the importance of the Savannah Air Guard Base and its 165th<\/sup> Air Wing to the nation\u2019s national security priorities, including performing domestic and international tactical airlift and airdrop missions. Senator Warnock also appealed directly to Acting USAF Secretary John Roth on this issue in April, strongly encouraging the Air Force to honor the commitment of the previous administration to modernize the Georgia Air National Guard C-130Js; Savannah had previously been named as one of the next to receive the modern aircraft as the planes were procured, designated as Main Operating Base 6 (\u201cMOB 6\u201d)\u2014an announcement that was confirmed by today\u2019s decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Georgia Air National Guard is a key asset in the United States\u2019 national security infrastructure and plays a critical role in the nation\u2019s defense, including: executing successful combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; providing support to overseas contingencies in Europe; conducting humanitarian missions to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria; and supporting crucial homeland security operations, including the 2021 presidential inauguration. Pending the environmental analysis of Savannah, expected to be completed in Spring of 2022, the action will be finalized, and the aircraft will be relocated to the Savannah base when procured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USAF confirmed today that Savannah and the Georgia Air National Guard is on track to receive new, strategic C-130J planes USAF decision follows Senator Warnock\u2019s efforts to apply pressure on senior Air Force department leaders to not divert C-130J planes that were promised to Savannah Air National Guard Base Savannah Air National Guard Base home to important 165th Air Wing, which is currently […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7001","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/7001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/7001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7273,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/7001\/revisions\/7273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}