Air National Guard to stay Air National Guard to stay (January 14, 2005)

Lack of funding cited as reason

By Candice Shih

Under financial and political pressure, the 129th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard has committed to stay at Moffett Field.

The 900-member unit had previously requested to relocate to Castle Airport in Merced County, a move which was criticized by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and the Mountain View City Council.

"If they weren't here, there wouldn't be a unit in charge of disaster aid," Eshoo said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

City Manager Kevin Duggan was also pleased to hear that the National Guard would stay.

"These are critical services for the Bay Area, and it's important to have them in the Bay Area."

The relocation was proposed to save the unit and its members money from the high operations and living costs in the Bay Area, according to Lt. Toni Gray, a spokesperson for the 129th Rescue Wing.

However, Gray and Eshoo disagreed on the reasons the plan fell apart.

According to Gray, the National Guard bureau in Washington, D.C. decided to nix the plan to save money.

"Since they knew there would not be any money to fund the move, they decided to rescind the request for funding," she said, adding, "By pulling the funding request, it gives them the option to introduce it later on when funding becomes available."

The move would have cost $46 million, which would have been recovered within its first seven years, and then would have saved the unit $5 million annually thereafter, Gray said.

But, according to Eshoo, the U.S. Air Force declined the Guard's request.

"There was never any money for this. ... It's been rejected based on a waste of money," she said.

The 129th Rescue Wing and NASA, which owns the land the Guard operates on, are working on a long-term lease agreement, Eshoo added.

The 129th Rescue Wing performs search-and-rescue missions for downed aviators abroad and civilian search-and-rescue missions in California. Of its 900 members, 250 are full-time and five are currently deployed on Operation Iraqi Freedom.

E-mail Candice Shih at cshih@mv-voice.com

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