Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The 911th Airlift wing in Moon will remain open for another year, but uncertainty remains about its future.
The 911th Airlift Wing will keep its eight C-130 tactical aircraft through 2014, maintaining its full flying mission for one year. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, announced today that a planned 2013 closure of the base will not occur. Operations at the base will continue into next year, Murphy said in a statement. The Air Force renewed the base's mission today. The 911th has faced previous closure attempts, including one in 2005. “The past 12 months aside, countless members of our community have been fighting since 2004 to block misguided and misinformed attempts to close the 911th," Murphy said in a statement. The 911th's mission after 2014 remains unclear. Murphy said efforts to stave off a closure have not ended. “Despite …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Air Force officials could make a decision this week, according to reports.
The Pentagon and federal lawmakers will make a "final decision" tomorrow about the 911th Airlift Wing's often uncertain future, the Post-Gazette reports. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said a decision will be announced sometime Wednesday, but said she could not further discuss the matter. The announcement will come after more than a year of threats, and delays, to shutter the Moon Township-based air wing. The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013—after the expiration of a law put in place to delay a closure. Military officials said closing the 911th, which employs 1,100 military and 300 civilian personnel, would save $350 million. All personnel positions on the base would be …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Free parking, childcare and lunch will be provided for this event at Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Oakland.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, March 6
Lt. Col. Michele R. Papakie, inspector general at the 171st Refueling Wing in Moon, will be a keynote speaker during a town hall meeting on issues facing women veterans. Allegheny County Division of Veteran Services will hold the town hall meeting for women veterans from across Allegheny County. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 16, at Soldiers and Sailors Hall at 4141 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Allegheny County is home to more than 7,200 female veterans who will be the focus of the town hall event. The program will include information about services available such as health care, employment, education, and family-related programs. Employers have also been invited to discuss potential employment opportunities in the region. …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
A spokesman for the Moon Township airlift wing said the base is mired in uncertainty from gridlock in Washington D.C and the continued threat of a base closure.
More than 280 civilian employees at the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township face furloughs in April as a result of the federal government's budget sequestration. Capt. Shawn Walleck, a spokesman for the base, said civilian employees and personnel with dual military and civilian status at the base will take a 20 percent reduction in wages as a result of a federal government budget impasse. A sweeping series of federal government cuts—totaling more than $85 billion—went into effect on March 1, triggered by gridlock on the federal deficit. Days ago, the chief of civilian personnel at the 911th met with the base's civilian staff members to discuss the upcoming furloughs. The cuts impact each member of the 911th's civilian staff. Civilian …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Help Moon Township-area military members deployed in Afghanistan.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Jenna Staul
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Thursday, February 28
Moon Area High School and Sewickley Academy students are collecting items to be sent to local military members deployed in Afghanistan. Moon student John Bal and Sewickley Academy student Jack Matten are soliciting donations for care packages, which will be shipped to Moon Township's 303rd Army Reserve Unit, based at McGarity Reserve Center off University Boulevard. The students hope to gather toiletries and basic comfort items for the unit. In addition, they seek to raise $1,000 to pay for shipping costs. Collection sites are located at: Suggested items for the care packages: For questions, call 412-859-1281 or email, 303rdCare@gmail.com
Saturday, February 9, 2013
The governor is proposing to spend $200,000 to help communities gather economic evidence about how the closure of a base would impact their area. The money could help the 911th Airlift Wing make its case to remain open.
Buried deep inside Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget proposal released this week is a small line item to help communities gather economic evidence about how the closure of a base would impact their area. The $200,000 is just a drop in the bucket of the $28.4 billion budget, but it could go a long way to protecting the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township–and other bases across the state–from being shuttered by the federal government. Steve Kratz, a spokesman for the Department of Community and Economic Development, said that funding would provide additional staff for a committee tasked with gathering evidence about the economic impact of these military bases. “That’s going to allow the committee to hire an additional staffer and provide additional…
Monday, February 4, 2013
Officials are working to stave off a closure of the Moon Township-based 911th Airlift Wing.
A Pentagon working group charged with deciding whether the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon will keep its flying mission has accepted data submitted by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and the Military Affairs Coalition of Western Pennsylvania. According to Murphy's office, the Congressman has submitted data and documentation about the 911th to Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller, who is leading the Pentagon's analysis of the wing. Moeller is expected to visit the base and conduct an assessment of its operations. A visit scheduled for January was postponed due to inclement weather. The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013—after the expiration of a law put in place to delay a closure. …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Moon Township-based Army Reserve Center bids farewell to soldiers in a Yellow Ribbon event.
More than 60 Army reservists from the Moon-based McGarity Army Reserve Center left Monday for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, where they will prepare for a deployment in Afghanistan this spring. Soliders from the 303rd Tactical Pyschological Operation Company will provide military information support for Marines in various location in Afghanistan, according to an Army news release. The reserve center held a "Yellow Ribbon" event for family members prior to the reservists' departure. The deployment will be the first for more than a dozen members of the unit. Soldiers from the 303rd will take part in tactical and technical exercises at the New Jersey base. Read more from the Defense Video Imagery Distribution Service.
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Air Force official was expected to conduct an on-the-ground-inspection of the wing today.
A planned tour and assessment of the 911th Airlift Wing to be taken by Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Murphy invited Moeller to tour the facility today and discuss the air base's future in a closed-door meeting, according to a statement from the Congressman. The U.S. Air Force has again taken initial steps toward closing the airlift wing after March 2013—after the expiration of a law put in place to delay a closure. Military officials said closing the 911th, which employs 1,100 military and 300 civilian personnel, would save $350 million. All personnel positions on the base would be eliminated under the proposed closure. Murphy and other local …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Reservists at the Moon Township air base return from deployment overseas.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, January 23
Airdoc
11:55 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
An official with the Dept. of Agriculture asked the administration if he had any leeway on the cuts he was to make because of the sequestration. The email he received stated that he is not to do anything that will go against the severity of the sequestration that is being put out by this administration! Media?. more ›