Saturday, November 24, 2012
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…
Sunday, June 10, 2012
William Hicks, 91, said he never thought the Tuskegee Airmen would get quite this much recognition.
William Hicks was 20 years old in 1942 when he enlisted in the Tuskegee Airmen program. “I wasn’t even old enough to vote. At that time you had to be 21,” said the 91-year-old, who resided in Pittsburgh for decades, but now lives in North Carolina. Hicks was in Sewickley Friday to join a ceremony at Esmark, where members of the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial of Greater Pittsburgh were given a donation to help with plans to build a monument in the Sewickley Cemetery. Western Pennsylvania had the largest contingency of soldiers who enlisted in the Tuskegee Airmen program, with Sewickley contributing eight, according to the Daniel B. Matthews Historical Society. Their story is now being told as part of the U.S. Air Force's history in movies like …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Veterans and local officials protest the planned closing of one Moon Township military base and reductions at another.
The region's military supporters joined county and national officials Tuesday night in Pittsburgh to protest the planned closure of the Moon-based 911th Airlift Wing. More than 150 veterans and others gathered at a rally at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland to urge U.S. military officials to reconsider closing the airlift wing The Air Force announced plans earlier this year to shutter the 911th in 2013, eliminating 1,100 military and 280 civilian jobs in the move. The neighboring 171st Refueling Wing also has been targeted for realignment and personnel layoffs. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, stood alongside U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, and Allegheny …
40.44383
-79.9556
4141 5th Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/rally-for-911th
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40.492373
-80.211261
U.S. Air Force
2475 Defense Ave, Coraopolis, PA
/articles/rally-for-911th
1020605
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40.480611
-80.218809
300 Tanker Rd, Coraopolis, PA
/articles/rally-for-911th
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Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Personnel on the Moon-based airlift wing today will learn their future assignments from the Air Force.
Local residents today may notice new signs dotting yards and roadways in Moon Township. "You always hear people say, 'Support our troops,'" said Brian Schill, public relations director for the Military Affairs Coalition of Western Pennsylvania. "Well, these signs say support your troops. And that 'your' is in bold (lettering)." Schill said the coalition hopes Moon-area residents, business owners and public officials will rally behind the township-based 911th Airlift Wing and Air National Guard 171st Refueling Wing. The group will place more than 100 signs throughout the township today, protesting the U.S. Air Force's plan to shutter the 911th and reduce the aircraft fleet of the 171st. The Air Force announced plans in February to close …
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Congressman notes that the 911th has invested more than $50 million in the base since 2004, with construction of facilities for medical training, lodging and aircraft maintenance.
U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy said he came away "disappointed" after meeting today with Air Force officials in an effort to change their plans to close the Moon-based 911th Airlift Wing. Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, said military officials remained unmoved after a meeting in which he and other members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation argued its cost-effectiveness and its value to Western Pennsylvania. Air Force officials next week are expected to provide lawmakers with data on civilian employees of the 911th and how they would be affected by the closing, Murphy said. The Air Force made the decision to shutter the base without conducting a cost-analysis study that would compare its operations with those at other air bases in the country, he…
40.496311
-80.258914
1111 Airport Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/murphy-air-force-doesn-t-have-the-data-to-close-911th-airlift-wing
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40.492373
-80.211261
2475 Defense Ave, Coraopolis, PA
/articles/murphy-air-force-doesn-t-have-the-data-to-close-911th-airlift-wing
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Area business leaders say they plan to push for the base to stay open.
Officials from the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce said the planned closure of the Air Force Reserve's 911th Airlift Wing could impact as many as 2,500 military and civilian jobs in the Pittsburgh International Airport region. "In speaking with our military folks over there, we believe that about $114 million in salaries are generated from the base," Sally Haas from the Airport Area Chamber of Commerce said. "It trickles down into related services. It's contracts, it's infrastructure and support services. That's a lot of money, and it's a big deal." The Air Force announced plans last week to retire each of the Moon-based airlift wing's C-130 aircraft and shutter the base as a part of an $8.7 billion military restructuring …
Monday, February 6, 2012
Brigadier Gen. Roy E. Uptegraff has been promoted from his position as commander of the 171st Refueling Wing
Col. Anthony J. Carrelli assumed command of the Moon-based 171st Air National Guard Refueling Wing Wednesday after the promotion of the unit's former commander. Former 171st commander Major Gen. Roy E. Uptegraff has been promoted to Air National Guard Assistant to Commander, Air Mobility. Uptegraff, who has served as commander of the 171st since 2006, will be stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Carrelli took the position after a change-of-command ceremony Sunday at the 171st's base. The change in leadership comes after word last week that the Air Force plans to retire four KC-135 refueling tanker planes at the station as a part of an effort to drastically reduce federal defense spending. The reductions include closing the …
durf
7:44 am on Monday, April 9, 2012
Regardless if we are at war or in a time of peace there are going to be military bases all over the world and the nation. Its just fact. The 911th is one of the most cost effective bases in the Air Force Reserve Command. Where most AF Bases cost the government 6 million a year to maintain the runways the 911th is a lot less because of the county. Not to mention the troops at the 911th have kept … more ›