250 Jobs Coming to Horsham Air Guard Station (drone command center)
The flying mission of the 111th Fighter Wing may have been grounded, but officials said a new mission is in sight at the Horsham Air Guard Station.
The U.S. Air Force has chosen the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Wing, located at the 238-acre Horsham Air Guard Station, adjacent to the shuttered Willow Grove air base, to take on a new Remotely Piloted Aircraft mission.
The National Guard Bureau has authorized the wing to establish a ground-control station for the MQ-9 Reaper at the Horsham Air Guard Station effective Oct. 1.
"This is an exciting time for our wing, and our Airmen are energized to embrace this new mission," Col. Howard "Chip" Eissler, 111th Fighter Wing commander said in a press release issued Tuesday. "I'm proud to see that the Air Force recognizes our wing's capabilities, strategic location and our diversely talented members. The composition, operational tempo and infrastructure of our unit will increase as we prepare to take on this new challenge of housing a high-tech ground control station right here in Horsham."
http://lansdale.patch.com/articles/new-mission-coming-to-horsham-air-guard-station
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Left unsaid in the hoopla over the supposed 250 new jobs (only 75 of which would be full-time), is what it means to have combat personnel responsible for killing operating in a densely populated suburb of a major city like Philadelphia.
“I’ll get back to you on that,” a press spokesman for Rep. Meehan said, when I asked him about whether the congressman had thought about the security issues involved in locating a drone piloting operation in Horsham. He never did return the call, or a second one leaving a reminder message.
John Braxton, a leading local peace activist and founding member of US Labor Against the War (USLAW), said “We need jobs, but we need jobs for a sustainable world, not drone piloting jobs. I’m sorry to learn that our region has to play a part in illegal and immoral operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” He added, “Morality aside, it certainly doesn’t make sense to put one of these operations in a populated area. If someone decided to retaliate against the drone strikes here, it could cause a lot of injuries and deaths.” Braxton also speculated that while the Pentagon is stressing that no drones will be flying locally from the base’s airfield for domestic purposes, “These things do tend to get out of hand once they get started.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/27/the-afghanistan-war-comes-home-to-philadelphia/
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