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VIENNA - The Ohio congressional delegation sent a letter to the secretary of the Air Force requesting the Youngstown Air Reserve Station receive consideration as the location for a new combat communications squadron.
All 15 House members and both U.S. senators from Ohio signed the letter, led by U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, who represents all of Trumbull County and will soon represent portions of Mahoning County.
The Air Force Reserve Command's new 33rd Combat Communications Squadron is looking for a location. The squadron would include 22 full-time and 128 part-time Air Reserve personnel.
The squadron would help handle communications computer systems and air traffic services for military operations.
Joyce said YARS "is a vital national security asset and a major employer and economic driver in the Mahoning Valley. YARS is the right operational fit for this new squadron. It has the facilities and resources to stand up the unit quickly and strengthen the Air Force's readiness."
YARS has about 2,000 employees, most of them reservists and active duty, and an annual economic impact of about $150 million.
The base is home to the DOD's only large-area fixed-wing aerial spray unit. It controls disease-carrying insects, pest insects and undesirable vegetation as well as dispersing oil spills in large bodies of water.
YARS is going through a significant upgrade in its aircrafts, switching from C-130H models to new C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircrafts. Four of the eight new aircrafts have arrived, including the latest on Oct. 1.
The planes are replacing C-130H models at YARS that were built between 1989 and 1992 and were assigned to the air base in 1994 when the 910th received its airlift wing designation.
The new planes cost about $109.75 million each for a total investment of $878 million.
The base is also getting a $25 million fire station, underwent an $11 million main gate relocation project and $8 million was spent to resurface the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport's 9,000-foot taxiway that leads to the facility's main runway and connects to YARS.
In the letter to Secretary Troy E. Meink, the delegation wrote that YARS offers "a ready-made operational advantage" because of the airlift wing and the new aircrafts.
The letter reads: "This pairing would enable combat communications airmen and aircrews to train, load and deploy together, strengthening the squadron's ability to move personnel, vehicles and deployable communications equipment quickly when called upon."
With the departures of the Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve at YARS, the letter states the base is "well positioned to quickly stand up the 33rd CBCS at a lower cost" as there isn't a need for new construction.
Also, the installation sits on 272 acres and recently acquired an additional 43 acres, giving "the Air Force the flexibility to establish the 33rd CBCS quickly while preserving options for future growth as mission, personnel, equipment and force-structure requirements evolve."
In July, five members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation, including its two U.S. senators, wrote a letter to Michael J. Borders, assistant secretary of the Air Force, requesting that the squadron be based at the Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station in Moon, Pa.