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Judge favors Pennsylvania in base closure ruling
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Pentagon lacks the authority to close a Pennsylvania Air National Guard unit without the governor's approval, a federal judge ruled Friday.
In a case that could affect National Guard units nationwide, Gov. Ed Rendell said the Pentagon wrongly proposed trimming the state's Air National Guard without his consent.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the Base Realignment and Closure Act supersedes a federal law requiring gubernatorial consent.
The part of the Defense Department report "that recommends deactivation of the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard is null and void," Judge John R. Padova ruled.
The 111th Fighter Wing at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station employs more than 1,000 people and represents one-fourth of the state's Air National Guard.
The nine-member Base Closure and Realignment Commission still hasn't voted on Willow Grove's fate. The commission was expected to vote Friday on the recommendation to close Willow Grove, which is also home to Air Force and Navy reserves and other military units.
The governor commands the unit's activities 90% of the time, as it responds to floods, errant planes and other emergencies, Rendell said in his lawsuit against the federal government. Federal officials command the Guard only when it is activated for missions such as the war in Iraq, he said.
Several other states have filed, or are considering, similar lawsuits.
CNN
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Pentagon lacks the authority to close a Pennsylvania Air National Guard unit without the governor's approval, a federal judge ruled Friday.
In a case that could affect National Guard units nationwide, Gov. Ed Rendell said the Pentagon wrongly proposed trimming the state's Air National Guard without his consent.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the Base Realignment and Closure Act supersedes a federal law requiring gubernatorial consent.
The part of the Defense Department report "that recommends deactivation of the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard is null and void," Judge John R. Padova ruled.
The 111th Fighter Wing at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station employs more than 1,000 people and represents one-fourth of the state's Air National Guard.
The nine-member Base Closure and Realignment Commission still hasn't voted on Willow Grove's fate. The commission was expected to vote Friday on the recommendation to close Willow Grove, which is also home to Air Force and Navy reserves and other military units.
The governor commands the unit's activities 90% of the time, as it responds to floods, errant planes and other emergencies, Rendell said in his lawsuit against the federal government. Federal officials command the Guard only when it is activated for missions such as the war in Iraq, he said.
Several other states have filed, or are considering, similar lawsuits.
CNN