MacArthur helps rescue KC-10 (and joint base) from retirement

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

As promised, Save Jerseyans, freshman Rep. Tom MacArthur (R, NJ-03) led the charge on behalf of thousands of his constituents employed by the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on Wednesday night, securing language in the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act safeguarding the KC-10 refueling tanker from efforts to retire it and, in so doing, protecting the base itself from the chopping block.

The GOP also excluded a Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) process from the defense budget. Here’s video of Congressman MacArthur’s floor remarks on that particular topic:

“The KC-10 is critically important not only to our military’s air mobility and readiness, but to the survival of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and the 40,000 New Jerseyans employed there,” MacArthur said in a subsequent statement hours after his floor speech. “It is imperative that we protect our most capable and reliable refeuler from an early and reckless retirement, and I’ve been fighting to prevent that from happening.”

The refueling aircraft account for two-thirds of the joint base’s flying mission.

“With tonight’s success and the protection of the KC-10 tanker, we can ensure that our military has the proven resources it needs to respond to changing global resources around the world,” MacArthur added. 
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Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8403 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

2 Comments

  1. Matt, it is important to disaggregate BRAC and military procurement. We have closed enough bases for now, the Congressman is right on this. The much larger multi-billion dollar issue is the waste, fraud, and abuse that is enshrined into the military procurement process, a system where the government almost always pays top dollar in a murky process where retired generals now in business suits swindle the taxpayer for everything from $2000 swivel chairs to multi-billion dollar cost overruns on items such as the F-35. Perhaps the biggest waste is when Congress out of a parochial interest forces the Pentagon to spend billions on equipment that the military has said it does not need such as ten extra C-130 transport planes a few years back (at only $250M each) or the KC-10. While this is currently one of the major missions at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, why can’t that base compete to host some of the next generation KC-46 refuelers which as a contract by the way are currently under-budget by $300M? The military, including contractors, are told to be adaptable. Why not embrace the future technology and retire the old systems and be consistent to include defense spending with other appropriations when we call for efficiency and an end to waste. The jobs will still exist somewhere. Let Dix compete for them.

  2. That would make too much sense…btw – no change in the status quo. Hey, at least T-Mac proposed a new National FISH. Well done, R’s…good to see the Important work being done, while the only help for SANDY victims was a bill that guaranteed up to a three-year “clawback” and essentially did nothing new. It’s been 2 and a half years. Are you HOME, YET? The good news is that, at least, that bill has gone nowhere in 4 months.

    Also noticed the boardwalk wasn’t raised 10 feet, and that cabanas are showing up on the “public” beaches in front of “private” residences and businesses.

    Some pigs are more equal than others.

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