McCaskill at 139th Airlift Wing in St. Joseph to Discuss Needs and Successes as Security & Defense Tour Across Missouri Continues
Senator, senior member of Armed Services & Homeland Security Committees, receives classified briefing and holds roundtable discussion with commander, staff, and community leaders
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a senior member of the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, today visited the 139th Airlift Wing in St. Joseph as she continued her Security & Defense Tour across the state.
Click HERE for more photos from McCaskill’s Security & Defense Tour.
McCaskill received a classified briefing from leaders of the effort at the 139th responsible for providing in-depth analysis of our adversaries’ advancements to emerging tactics and technologies that threaten U.S. missions. She heard directly from intelligence analysts examining the actions of America’s adversaries and how such actions will affect the safety and security of pilots and aircrews operating in combat.
Because the 139th Airlift Wing has tactics development experts working in the same facility as intelligence analysts, changes to policy can be quickly assembled and disseminated to elements in the Active Duty, Air Force Reserve, and National Guard—a capability that is unique to the 139th.
McCaskill was then joined by the 139th commander and staff, as well as key community leaders, for a roundtable briefing focused on the installation’s needs and successes.
“When it comes to keeping our state and our communities safe and secure, I learn more hearing directly from the men and women here on the ground than I do the four-star generals who I meet with in the Senate,” said McCaskill, daughter of a World War II veteran. “And it makes me a more effective advocate when I fight to maintain Missouri’s leadership role in providing for our nation’s defense.”
The 139th Airlift Wing is responsible for several unique functions that are not found elsewhere in the Air Force. Among those capabilities is the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, which is responsible for a number of missions including developing new Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for military cargo planes. The 139th is also home to the Weapons Instructor Course, where pilots and aircrews from the National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Active Duty, and Coalition Partner Nations are trained on the most advanced tactics on Mobility Air Force weapons systems, including the C-130.
McCaskill is a longtime advocate for the Missouri National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing. She previously teamed up with fellow Missouri Senator Roy Blunt at the Air National Guard Base for a roundtable discussion with 30 community leaders and leadership from the 139th Airlift Wing to talk about the C-130, the role of Missouri's military bases in national defense and the impact of possible Pentagon budget cuts. McCaskill also previously urged the Air Force to provide the 139th Airlift Wing with C-130J model aircraft, as well as a full motion simulator training facility that would save taxpayer dollars and enhance the mission’s training capabilities, touting the base's personnel, expertise, and exceptional training facilities.
McCaskill is also using her events this week to call for an “honest defense budget our men and women in uniform deserve.”
McCaskill has consistently called on Republican leaders in Congress to properly budget for military operations. Federal budget caps are set to force a further reduction in the U.S. military’s force size. In order to avoid drastic cuts, McCaskill has pushed for the budget caps to be addressed, and to secure investments in both defense and security needs at home. Instead, Republican leaders in the U.S. House have decided to pump resources into the Pentagon’s off-the-books war budget, known as the “Overseas Contingency Operations” fund. McCaskill has likened that move to a dishonest “slush fund” since that fund does not have to be off-set or paid-for,
and cannot be used by military leaders to maintain force size. Under the plan proposed by the House of Representatives, the Department of Defense is slated to run out of war funding halfway through the 2017 fiscal year.
On her Security & Defense Tour, McCaskill will also receive briefings and hear directly from senior military leaders at Jefferson Barracks, Fort Leonard Wood, the Missouri National Guard, and other locations around the state.
Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/defense to learn more about McCaskill’s fight to protect our national security.
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