Burgess to Turner: NASIC Mission Will Remain at WPAFB
Rep. Turner to Burgess: Protect NASIC, WPAFB Missions, and Ohio Jobs
Washington,
Sep 30, 2010 -
Mike Turner, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, today in a meeting in his office, received the personal assurance of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess that no jobs or missions will be moved from the National Air and Space Intelligence Agency (NASIC), based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center (MSIC), based at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. This means that critical missions and thousands of jobs remain in the Dayton Region.
“Protecting NASIC and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is in the best interests of our national security and is good news for our local economy,” Rep. Turner said. “The personnel at NASIC have a proven performance record and I commend LTG Burgess and the DIA for recognizing the critical role NASIC plays in protecting the citizens of the United States. I am glad that NASIC will remain in Dayton, Ohio where it belongs.”
In their meeting, LTG Burgess and Rep. Turner discussed the Alabama Congressional Delegation’s recent efforts to grow MSIC by attempting to steal mission responsibility from NASIC. Over the past several years, there have been efforts to grow MSIC by attempting to steal mission responsibility from NASIC. Based on NASIC’s reputation within the intelligence community as the lead organization in providing timely, quality analysis for ballistic missiles and space, the attempt to grow MSIC has been seen by many as simply an effort to take jobs from Ohio and bring them to Alabama.
Rep. Turner and the Ohio delegation have continuously worked to protect the current missions at NASIC. Most recently, Rep. Turner sent letters to President Barack Obama and Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess opposing Alabama’s efforts, and led an Ohio Delegation wide letter to the DIA making the case that NASIC’s past performance clearly shows mission responsibility should remain at the status quo.
The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) is one of the critical missions at Wright-Patterson. NASIC has proven itself as the nation’s premier analytical expertise in air, space, counterspace, and cyberspace. Approximately 2,000 personnel work at NASIC, of which about 60 percent are civilians.
