[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NATO STRATEGIC AIRLIFT CAPABILITY

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, as a delegate of the NATO Parliamentary 
Assembly and very active in its defense subcommittee, and also the 
chairman of the Baltic Caucus, I am excited and extremely pleased with 
NATO's recent announcement in a letter of intent after 6 months of 
negotiation.
  Thirteen Nations have developed a plan to create a NATO Strategic 
Airlift Capability based at Ramstein Air Force Base. Initially 
comprised of three to four C-17s, the SAC will be flown by 
multinational air crews, pilots and loadmasters, and a multinational 
military structure will be created to command and control these 
aircraft.
  Boeing, who builds the C-17, is a great U.S. company. This aids in 
NATO's transformation and jobs for U.S. workers.

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