State Rep. Mark Mustio

Mustio: 911th Mission Renewal 'Huge Victory'

Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, discusses state efforts to save the Moon Township air wing.

Thanks once again to the tremendous response and vigilant efforts of concerned District 44 residents, on March 13, the United States Air Force announced that the 911th Airlift Wing will remain open through at least fiscal year 2014. In late April 2012, my resolution encouraging the President of the United States and U.S. Congress to prohibit the closing of the 911 the Airlift Wing was unanimously approved by the State House and sent to Washington D.C. Just as we did in 2005, my Southwestern Pennsylvania colleagues in the General Assembly, Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation and a host of state and local officials came together to achieve another huge victory for our military personnel and our local economy. My purpose for advancing …

• Photos (1)

Murphy, Rothfus and Doyle Plan 911th Airlift Wing News Conference

The congressmen will speak this morning at the Moon Township base.

A news conference is planned for later this morning regarding the future of the 911th Airlift Wing. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, U.S. Rep Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Swissvale plan to discuss continuing efforts to strengthen the 911th and the 171st airlift wing, as well as the next steps for military units in the Western Pennsylvania region.  Murphy announced last week that a planned 2013 closure of the base will not occur and that operations at the base will continue into next year. The 911th has faced previous closure attempts, including one in 2005. Today's conference, "Investing in the Future of the 911th and 171st: Where We Go From Here," begins at 11:15 a.m. at the Moon Township base. Other …

• Photos (1)

Air Force: 911th Airlift Wing Mission Secure Through 2014

The 911th Airlift wing in Moon will remain open for another year, but uncertainty remains about its future.

The 911th Airlift Wing will keep its eight C-130 tactical aircraft through 2014, maintaining its full flying mission for one year.  Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, announced today that a planned 2013 closure of the base will not occur. Operations at the base will continue into next year, Murphy said in a statement.  The Air Force renewed the base's mission today. The 911th has faced previous closure attempts, including one in 2005. “The past twelve months aside, countless members of our community have been fighting since 2004 to block misguided and misinformed attempts to close the 911th," Murphy said in a statement. It is unclear what flying mission, if any, the 911th will receive after 2014. Murphy said efforts to stave off a closure…

• Photos (1)

For 911th, Sequestration Brings Hundreds of Furloughs

A spokesman for the Moon Township airlift wing said the base is mired in uncertainty from gridlock in Washington D.C and the continued threat of a base closure.

More than 280 civilian employees at the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township face furloughs in April as a result of the federal government's budget sequestration. Capt. Shawn Walleck, a spokesman for the base, said civilian employees and personnel with dual military and civilian status at the base will take a 20 percent reduction in wages as a result of a federal government budget impasse. A sweeping series of federal government cuts—totaling more than $85 billion—went into effect on March 1, triggered by gridlock on the federal deficit.  Days ago, the chief of civilian personnel at the 911th met with the base's civilian staff members to discuss the upcoming furloughs.  The cuts impact each member of the 911th's civilian staff. Civilian …

• Photos (1)

Budget Proposal Offers Funds to Help Prevent Military Base Closures

The governor is proposing to spend $200,000 to help communities gather economic evidence about how the closure of a base would impact their area. The money could help the 911th Airlift Wing make its case to remain open.

Buried deep inside Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget proposal released this week is a small line item to help communities gather economic evidence about how the closure of a base would impact their area. The $200,000 is just a drop in the bucket of the $28.4 billion budget, but it could go a long way to protecting the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township­–and other bases across the state–from being shuttered by the federal government. Steve Kratz, a spokesman for the Department of Community and Economic Development, said that funding would provide additional staff for a committee tasked with gathering evidence about the economic impact of these military bases. “That’s going to allow the committee to hire an additional staffer and provide additional…

• Photos (1)

Gov. Corbett, in Speech, Backs Efforts to Save 911th Airlift Wing

The Pennsylvania governor speaks at the Moon Township-based air wing, urging military officials to scrap plans to shutter the base.

Standing beneath the wings of a C-130 aircraft at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said he would work with Pennsylvania's federal lawmakers to fight renewed plans to close the Moon Township air base.  Corbett, appearing alongside Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and state Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, implored military officials and federal lawmakers to end efforts to close the 911th as a cost-saving measure.  "I'm going to ask our (Pennsylvania) congressional delegation to do whatever they need to do to save this base," Corbett said.  The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013— after the expirationg of a law …

• Photos (2)

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Expresses Support for 911th

Lawmakers are again working to stave off a closure of the Moon Township air reserve station.

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has endorsed efforts to prevent the Moon-based 911th Airlift Wing from closing down.  Rep. Buck McKeon, R-CA, today urged Air Force officials to halt efforts to close the air wing as a cost-cutting measure.  According to a statement from McKeon:  Installations like the Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station have been vital to supporting our men and women deployed in harms way. New concepts in warfare have made our soldiers on the ground more dependent than ever on airlift assets like Pittsburgh's C-130s. The Air Force didn't take those missions into account when they offered their plans to cut inventory earlier this year. Congress has directed them to correct that error and fully appreciate the …

• Photos (1)

Rep. Murphy Hosts Town Hall on Efforts to Save Moon's 911th Airlift Wing

The Congressman said Air Force officials are unaware of new infrastructure built at the Moon Township air wing.

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, asked community members in Moon Township to contact Sen. Bob Casey, R-Scranton, and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Zionsville, and urge them to support upcoming legislation that would delay a closure of the 911th Airlift Wing. Murphy, speaking at a town hall meeting Monday at the Moon Municipal Building, said the Senate will take up draft legislation later this week that would prohibit the Air Force from shutting down the Moon base through Sept. 2013.  He said the Air Force has renewed its efforts to close the air wing.  Air Force officials have again taken the initial steps toward shuttering the 911th after March 2013—when a law put in place to delay a closure of the base expires, Murphy said.  "There are so many …

• Photos (2)

Threat to Close Moon's 911th Renews, Town Hall Meeting Planned

Officials will discuss the future of the air base with reservists and Moon-area community members.

After dodging a planned 2012 closure, Moon Township's 911th Airlift Wing is again in jeopardy.  The Air Force is pursuing an effort to shut down the base in March 2013—right after a temporary law to prevent such a closure expires, according to a statement from Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair .   Murphy will host a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Moon Municipal Building. The meeting is open to the public.  The Congressman will discuss the future of the air reserve base and take questions.  The proposed 2012 closure was a part of a plan to trim $8.7 billion from the Air Force's 2013 budget.  The closure would have included the elimination of the base's 1,100 military and 300 civilian positions. The 911th was first targeted for…

• Photos (1)