May 13, 2005 Senator Clinton Vows to Fight DOD Recommendation to Close Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Reiterates Commitment to working with federal, state and local leaders to make the case for the facility Washington, DC -- Today, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to fight the U.S. Department of Defense recommendation that the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, which includes the 107th Air Refueling Wing and the 914th Airlift Wing, be closed under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The Senator reiterated her commitment to working with federal, state and local leaders to help make the case for the facility to stay open. She also announced that the Chairman of the BRAC commission, Anthony Principi, agreed to visit New York and the Senator will work to facilitate the Chairman's visit to Niagara as soon as possible. "I am deeply disappointed the Department of Defense would propose the closing of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and moving the 107th Air Refueling Wing and the 914th Airlift Wing. These units play a critical role in our national and homeland security and are also a significant force in the regional economy," Senator Clinton said. "The Base closing law requires military value to be the decisive criteria in making base closing decisions. By any reasonable measure of military criteria, Niagara should remain open. In November 2003, I had the opportunity to fly from Baghdad to Kuwait with members of the 914th Airlift wing wearing night vision goggles and I can attest to their skill and bravery." "I have always said that if based on the merits, we would have a very strong case to make for Niagara and all of New York's bases, because of their economic impact, their strategic advantage and the overwhelming community support that they enjoy. That is why I so strongly disagree with the Department of Defense's assessment and remain committed to working with federal, state and local leaders to help fight to ensure this unit gets a fair review of their situation with a hopeful outcome of remaining open." "Earlier this week, the BRAC commission chairman, Anthony Principi, committed to me that he would visit bases subject to closure in New York. I look forward to showing Chairman Principi that the Department of Defense has made the wrong recommendation when it comes to the Niagara Falls Joint Air Reserve Station." The Pentagon proposes moving the Air Force Reserves' 914th Airlift Wing (AW) C-130 Hercules aircraft to the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. The KC-135 air refueling tankers operated by New York Air National Guard's 107th Air Refueling Wing would be reassigned to the 101st ARW at Bangor Air National Guard Base in Maine. The 914th Airlift Wing (AW) is the lead Air Reserve airlift wing whose night vision goggle capability led to a number of special ops missions in Iraq. They operate the most modern C-130 aircraft in the Air Reserve and were the first Reserve unit sent back to Iraq for a second time. During the early stages of the war, they were the first Air Force unit operationally based 24-7 inside Iraq. The 107th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) at Niagara was recently designated as a permanent member of the Northeast Tanker Task Force (TTF) in addition to the sites in Bangor, ME and Pease, NH. The Task Force supports every aircraft going to Europe and Southwest Asia (Iraq). Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station employs 821 full time and 2,581 guardsmen and has an economic impact of $153 million on the community annually.