AEDC - Right for CBAT, Right for the Air Force
By: U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis

From the Manhattan Project to TVA to the Apollo project to the Spallation Neutron Source and so much more - the Tennessee Valley Corridor and its key institutions, communities, businesses and Congressional leaders have always exemplified the phrase "National Leadership through Regional Cooperation."

With the new global War on Terror before us, key leaders in our region continue to support our nation by working to enhance and advance the Corridor's key science, technology and national security assets.

One of the big new challenges in the War on Terror is adequate training for our combat troops. Afghanistan and Iraq have placed, for instance, a heavy new demand on the Airmen of our U.S. Air Force for needed ground-based combat support. These increased demands include prison guard duty, combat convoy support, and significantly expanded security force duty. With these additional responsibilities the Air Force has acknowledged its Airmen are lacking in the ground combat skills necessary to meet today's demands.

To address this need, the Air Force has proposed, as former Air Force Secretary Roche has described it, a new program to "bring together our Battlefield Airmen under a common training and organization structure to strengthen the combat power they bring to the fight."

Weapons training, tactical field operations, land navigation training, basic combat skills, physical fitness training, and basic medical training will be part of the core curriculum provided by a new Common Battlefield Airmen Training (CBAT) program. Implemented in three phases, a total of 14,410 Airmen are to be trained annually through CBAT.

The proposed location for this new Common Battlefield Airmen Training program has now been narrowed down to three potential sites. These three finalists are Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma and Manchester, TN; Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, GA; and Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, LA. Roughly 800 jobs will be created in the community selected to host this new training facility.

Key leaders in the Tennessee Valley Corridor and I are convinced that establishing CBAT at Arnold Air Force Base would be the best course of action and an exceptional investment for the Air Force and the nation.

Arnold Air Force Base and the Arnold Engineering Development Center are already home to the world's premier flight simulation testing facility and continue to be vital national resources in the development of many of the nation's top priority aerospace and national defense programs.

Arnold, with its history of extensive combat training during World War II, has abundant land available for CBAT training with a dedicated 200 acre campus, small arms firing range, and 9,000 acres for other required training.

In short, Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Valley Corridor have a world class facility ready and willing to house this important new training operation.

The Coffee County community, the Middle Tennessee/North Alabama region, and indeed, the entire Tennessee Valley Corridor, strongly support our nation's armed forces and their training needs as they continue to serve and defend our nation. A better trained corps of Airmen will not only give them the ability to operate more effectively in a combat zone and a better chance of survival, but will also help them better defend the United States in our post-9/11 world.

I strongly support, and encourage all others to support, Arnold Air Force Base's pursuit of this new CBAT program.

U.S. Representative Lincoln Davis represents Tennessee's Fourth Congressional District in the U.S House of Representatives and is an active supporter and partner in the Tennessee Valley Science and Technology Corridor.