Eglin 46th Test Wing to Stay at Eglin

I hope this put this issue to rest. To have both houses of government and both parties in support of the the same issue is very rare and a monumental move.


Sen. Nelson: 46th Test Wing to stay at Eglin
By MONA MOORE monam@nwfdailynews.com

FORT WALTON BEACH — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson says Air Force Chief Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has confirmed that Eglin Air Force Base’s 46th Test Wing will not move or report to a new base. “As soon as I got (the news) last week, I knew you’d want to hear it,” Nelson told those gathered at the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce for a town hall session Thursday. Leaders at the Air Force Materiel Command had considered stripping the test wing from the Air Armament Center’s chain of command to form one Air Force Developmental Test and Evaluation Center. “I simply was not going to let this happen,” Nelson said. Nelson is a member of the Senate’s Armed Services, Budget, Commerce, Foreign Relations, Intelligence and Aging committees. As the only senator who is a member of all three of the senate’s committees on national security, he used his leverage to get answers. At confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services committee, Nelson withheld the approval of Michael Donley as Secretary of the Air Force before the Senate’s August recess. “He could not answer my questions. I put a hold on him,” he said. “I told him I wanted some answers.” Nelson said he used the same tactic two years ago when the test wing’s realignment came up “to get their commitment they would come to Eglin.” He met with officials from the Air Force’s Materiel Command and said he and Miller acted like “two prosecuting attorneys,” firing questions that did not get answered. “They wanted to close down the (McKinley) climatic lab,” Nelson said. “We held the defense bill up and bought a year, making them produce a report (the RAND Corp. study). We got the Air Force to back off and we thought it was a done deal.” In May, Nelson said he sent a letter to the Air Force’s chief of staff. “They came back with Air Force answers and the answers didn’t give justification,” he said. Nelson had better luck after withholding the Donley nomination. In an e-mail dated Aug. 28, the Air Force answered two questions Nelson had asked. When asked for an update on the status of any Air Force Test and Evaluation reorganization, Maj. Reginald L. Bullock of the Air Force Senate Liaison Office answered: “No planning activities or actions have occurred or are occurring concerning reorganization or modification to the Air Force T&E enterprise. The Air Force is currently working with the other services and AT&L (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) in developing a uniform financial management system for DOD T&E facilities as required by the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2003, PL 107-314. That activity is currently focused on processes and does not involve the reorganization or movement of personnel.” Nelson also asked for details of any plans to reorganize or modify any units or missions that might affect the base. “Air Force T&E is not currently pursuing any actions that would involve reorganizing or modifying any units or missions that would affect the military or civilian workforce at Eglin AFB,” wrote Bullock. On other issues, Nelson repeated that he would not support drilling for oil or natural gas off Florida’s coast. He said drilling looked like a “seductive and simple” solution when gas reached $4 per gallon, but that it is not the answer because it would compromise the military’s mission, he said. “I’ve been standing up for the U.S. military for 25 years now on this issue,” he said. “This isn’t just the Air Force. This is the entire defense preparedness for this country.” Daily News Staff Writer Mona Moore can be reached at 863-1111, Ext. 1443.