[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 66 (Thursday, April 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S2560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TILLIS:
  S. 2885. A bill to extend the runway at Pope Army Airfield; to the 
Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, when it comes to projecting America's 
power, I have said many times that North Carolina is the tip of the 
American spear. When our country calls, it is a safe bet that the first 
responders will be U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune or our paratroopers 
of the 18th Airborne stationed at Fort Bragg.
  The 18th Airborne is America's Global Response Force. When called, 
units of the 18th Airborne can be anywhere in the world within 48 
hours. Because of this unique mission--unique to Fort Bragg and the 
18th Airborne--Pope Army Airfield is the busiest tactical airfield in 
the Armed Forces.
  Unfortunately, Pope is also home of the shortest runway in the Army. 
If the 18th Airborne is put on alert, C-5 and C-17 aircraft are needed 
to launch the force, and they cannot depart fully fueled with a full 
load of paratroopers and equipment off of the airfield. The current 
Pope Army Airfield runway provides only 8,500 feet for takeoff; 
however, to take off, the C-17 needs a minimum of 10,500 feet and the 
C-5 requires 11,500 feet.
  The Air Force's air refueling fleet is already stressed. The C-17s 
and C-5s used to carry out the Global Response Force missions have to 
leave Pope Army Airfield with full equipment and paratroopers but only 
about 60 percent of their fuel capacity. This requires them to go 
either to Charleston, SC, or Gander, Newfoundland, to get refueled so 
they can continue their mission. One refueling stop for an airlift 
coming out of Pope at Gander, Newfoundland, costs $17,000 per hour. If 
53 aircraft--roughly the number required to outload the heaviest 
brigade combat team--have to refuel at Gander, it costs about $2 
million one-way because they can't be fully loaded when they take off 
from Pope Army Airfield. This refueling stop also adds 2.5 more hours 
to the time on the mission, and the mission objective is to be anywhere 
in the world in 48 hours.
  Prior to the last round of BRAC, extending the Pope runway to 
accommodate fully loaded C-17 and C-5 aircraft was Air Mobility 
Command's No. 1 airfield project, and the U.S. Air Force said it was 
their No. 2 project. However, this has fallen off the Army's priority 
list, and I am not really sure why.
  Extending the Pope runway to accommodate the airlift requirements of 
the Global Response Force and the 18th Airborne Corps is a national 
strategic priority. Therefore, I will be offering an amendment to the 
National Defense Authorization Act during markup that requires the Army 
to report to the Senate their plans to extend the runway at Pope and 
whether it is the top priority for the Army. I think our paratroopers 
and crews need to know this. I know our taxpayers need to know this. 
And, more than anything, I want to make sure that when we deploy the 
proud men and women from the Green Ramp of Pope Army Airfield, we do it 
loaded and ready to go wherever they need to go in the United States or 
around the world.
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