Sponsored by:
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
Senator NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Urges United States Air Force to base F-35 fighter jets at 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Senate Resolution urging the United States Air Force to base F-35 fighter jets at the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Whereas, New Jersey’s 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard is among the units being considered by the United States Air Force to base the new F-35 fighter jets; and
Whereas, The 177th Fighter Wing meets the United States Air Force basing criteria which includes: mission requirements such as weather, airspace and training range availability; capacity such as sufficient hanger and ramp space, and facility considerations; environmental requirements; and cost factors; and
Whereas, The 177th Fighter Wing is located at the Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township and has an ideal strategic location between New York City and Washington, D.C. to play a critical role in defending our country; and
Whereas, The 177th Fighter Wing is vitally important in both the Air Combat Command’s Aerospace Expeditionary Force structure and NORAD’s Air Force Aerospace Control Alert mission, has had 14 years of Homeland Defense, has had three combat deployments, and has air-to-ground mission experience and expertise; and
Whereas, The facilities have already been designed to meet the needs of the F-35 fighter jets and any modifications would be limited, minimizing any costs to transition from the current basing of F-16’s to basing F-35 fighter jets; and
Whereas, The 177th Fighter Wing is a premier Air National Guard facility, is a critical asset in the planning and execution of national security decisions, and this House urges its selection as one of the locations to base the United States Air Force F-35 fighter jets; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. The General Assembly of the State of New Jersey hereby urges the United States Air Force to base F-35 fighter jets at the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State,
shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, each Senator and Representative from New Jersey in the Congress of the United States, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the Director of the Air National Guard of the National Guard Bureau, the Governor of the State of New Jersey, the Adjutant General of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs and the Wing Commander of the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard.
STATEMENT
This House urges the United States Air Force to base F-35 fighter jets at the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
New Jersey’s 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard is among the units being considered by the United States Air Force to base the new F-35 fighter jets. The 177th Fighter Wing has an ideal strategic location between New York City and Washington, D.C., is vitally important in both the Air Combat Command’s Aerospace Expeditionary Force structure and NORAD’s Air Force Aerospace Control Alert mission, has had 14 years of Homeland Defense experience, has had three combat deployments, and has air-to-ground mission experience and expertise. The facilities have already been designed to meet the needs of the F-35 fighter jets and any modifications would be limited, minimizing any costs to transition from the current basing of F-16’s to basing F-35 fighter jets.
The 177th Fighter Wing is a premier Air National Guard facility, is a critical asset in the planning and execution of national security decisions, and the United States Air Force is urged to select it as one of the locations to base the United States Air Force F-35 fighter jets.