Washington, DC—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today underscored to three nominees for senior Air Force leadership posts the critical importance of New York’s Air Force installations and the need to support their ongoing role in our national and homeland security.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing in Washington DC on the nominations of Michael B. Donley for Secretary of the Air Force, General Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, for Air Force Chief of Staff, and General Duncan J. McNabb, USAF, for Commander of Transportation Command, Senator Clinton outlined the critical role played by Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Stratton Air National Guard Base, Stewart Air National Guard Base, Gabreski Air National Guard Base, the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, and the Northeast Air Defense Sector Air National Guard Unit in Rome and invited the three officials to join her on a tour of the facilities.

“New York’s Air Force installations play a crucial role for our national defense, and these bases, stations, and research centers must have the resources they need to carry out their diverse and critical missions. I urge the Air Force leadership to join me in recognizing the importance of these facilities and as well as the need to deliver all necessary support to meet the opportunities and challenges these installations are facing,” said Senator Clinton.

A transcript of Senator Clinton’s remarks follows.

Senator Clinton: Thank you gentlemen and I am looking forward to your leadership. I think that, in fact, the Air Force and the country are looking forward to your leadership.

I’d like to take just a minute to run through quickly the New York installations.

The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, home to the Reserve’s 914th Air Lift Wing and the Air National Guard’s 107th Aerial Refueling, survived the last base closing round. But, a recommendation was made to convert the 107th to an Airlift Wing that would be associated with the Reserve’s Wing at the base. Thus far, four C-130s have been identified for the 107th, but I am eager to work with you to identify additional aircraft for the 107th or additional ways to keep the 107th viable going into the future.

Secondly, Hancock Field Air National Guard base in Syracuse is transitioning from the 174th [Fighter] Wing to a Predator mission, and again I’m eager to work to ensure that the transition is smooth and that the base does not experience any gaps in service during the transition.

Stratton Air National Guard base in Schenectady is home to the 109th Airlift Wing which has the Polar Ski Bird mission. I think these pilots do remarkable work on their skis on the ice and the snow, and I think there are additional capabilities for search and rescue that I think should be explored.

The Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh is home to the 105th Airlift Wing, which has aging C-5As. Now, Stewart itself is a modern, well-equipped installation, and again I’d like to work with you to ensure that the mission assigned to Stewart can be performed to the highest level of capacity.

And Gabreski Air National Guard base in Westhampton, Long Island is home to the 106th Rescue Wing. We successfully obtained funding for the first phase of a new para-rescue training facility in last year’s military construction appropriations bill. We’re in the process of obtaining the second phase, but this is so critical along the East Coast not only for search and rescue at sea but also for homeland security and weather incidents in terms of providing that capacity.

We also are home to the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York, and the Northeast Air Defense Sector Air National Guard Unit also in Rome. The work that is being done in the lab in Rome is absolutely amazing in respect to the cybersecurity and support of our men and women in uniform, and I look forward to working to develop a very close relationship between the research lab and the newly created Cyber Command.

So, I would invite each of you to visit with me New York’s Air Force installations as your schedule permits and to make sure that we meet these tremendous opportunities and resolve any of the challenges that we face….

Mr. Donley: Thank you, Senator. I appreciate your listing the Guard installations in New York. I’ve had a conversation with the Director of the Air Guard, who’s briefed me on the Air Force’s overall planned in—plans in response to BRAC to pursue total force initiatives and associate units in some of these cases. So while not familiar with all the details, I have gotten a first cut at that and, in fact, I have been invited to Niagara already.

Sen. Clinton: Good.

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