MANSFIELD — Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) touched down and walked out of a C-130 H Hercules Wednesday at the 179th Airlift Wing with a smile on his face.
He is on the third day of a five-day tour reviewing what airmen and airwomen of Ohio are on the various bases.
“I was here earlier this year, and I asked about going up in a C-130,” Portman said. “They said, ‘Sure, come on back and do it.’ So I did.”
Beyond a sight-seeing attraction though, the senator got a first-hand glance on the need for more modernization in the airplanes.
“We’re working to modernize these aircrafts… and also trying to get Mansfield in line to get the new planes which are coming off production, the C-130 J’s,” Portman said. “These planes (C-130 H Hercules) are getting old and we need to be sure they are safe for the pilots.
“We have to be sure they provide adequate security for the pilots when they are on missions and be sure they can be asked to do the tougher missions when you need avionics and safe airplanes. It was great to be up with these airmen today. They are awesome, award-winning and now it’s important I go back to Washington (D.C.) and explain why they need to be safer and can be used for important missions they are asked to do.”
Portman noted his service on the Armed Forces Committee, and when he was on it he was able to save the 179th Air Force Wing.
“If you recall, the Air Force wanted to close down this base,” Portman said. “We were able to find a new mission for them. To fly the C-130 H’s, which is really the workhorse for the United States Military. They do everything. Some are armored and they do war missions. Others like (the one he landed in) they can do drop missions; they can also emergency operations. They haven’t been called to Texas (where Hurricane Harvey hit) as I understand it, but that would be an example of something they might be called to do.
“It’s great for us to be able to keep an Air Force Base here in Mansfield. It’s really important for the 1,100 Airmen and Airwomen who are here.
“It’s a big economic impact. A lot of them have full-time jobs. It’s a good deal for Uncle Sam and it’s a good deal for us tax payers.”
Portman said he met Tuesday with NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, who is working with the military on aeronautic research.
“It was great to be up with these airmen today,” he said. “They are awesome, award winning and now it’s important I go back to Washington (D.C.) and explain why the need to be safer and can be used for important missions they are asked to do.
“Ohio is really important to our military readiness. It’s also really important to our economy 66,000 people are employed at these bases indirectly or directly — a $14 billion impact on the Ohio economy.”
