[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4176]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            PROPOSED DEACTIVATION OF THE 440TH AIRLIFT WING

  (Mr. HUDSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUDSON. Mr. Speaker, I have grave concerns about the proposed 
deactivation of the 440th Airlift Wing located at Pope Army Airfield 
contained in the President's budget. The 440th is absolutely critical 
to conducting the kind of training that both airborne and special 
operations forces located at the epicenter of the universe in Fort 
Bragg, North Carolina, rely on to conduct the high-risk missions they 
are charged with in combat.
  Beyond the immediate hit on readiness, the retirement will have an 
impact on over 1,200 servicemembers and their families directly 
associated with the unit.
  While I understand we face challenging fiscal times, I expect the 
Department to take a broad approach when it comes to finding savings. 
While retiring a particular airframe may make sense on paper, it is 
incredibly important that we take into account the value of a joint 
force structure. I find it hard to believe that out-of-State units can 
provide the same quality of training and operations as the local units 
that have the long-term relationship with the commanders on the ground.
  Additionally, cutting Fort Bragg's airborne operations by an 
estimated 23 percent could further erode our readiness at a time when 
the United States simply cannot afford it, eliminating the ability to 
rapidly mobilize, train, and deploy our most in-demand forces, namely 
the airborne and special operators.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to prevent these 
devastating cuts to our forces.

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