September 13, 2005

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said no final decisions will be made about where the A-10 aircraft at the Air National Guard Station in Battle Creek will ultimately be located until the U.S. Air Force identifies a new military mission for the state of Michigan.  Granholm said that final decision on the A-10s could be years in the making.
 
Granholm’s statement comes on the heels of the BRAC final report that she characterized as a “win-win” for Michigan. 
 
“In its final report the BRAC Commission recommended that the Air National Guard Base at Battle Creek remain open and the 110th Fighter Wing remain an active unit capable of supporting flying operations.  This will save the guard unit jobs at Battle Creek,” Granholm said.  “While the Commission recommended that the A-10s be assigned to the 127th Fighter Wing at Selfridge, that assignment does not stipulate where the A-10s will actually be located.”
 
Granholm said the real news out of the final report is that the Commission called on the Air Force to assign an additional mission to the state of Michigan and prevents the Air Force from unilaterally executing the BRAC Commission recommendation to assign the A-10 aircraft to the 127th Fighter Wing until the new mission is identified. 
 
According to Michigan National Guard Adjutant General Thomas Cutler the state is now guaranteed to keep two fully operational and outstanding air fields.  The Governor and the Michigan National Guard will join with Michigan’s Congressional Delegation to bring a new military mission to the state that makes the best use of its military infrastructure and increases the numbers of jobs in the state related to national defense.
 
“These victories for Michigan’s National Guard are on top of the huge win the Detroit Arsenal received in the BRAC process, with over 1,100 new, high paying jobs coming to Warren,” Granholm added.