Air Force Accused of Influencing Georgia Runoff in Favor of Republicans

Source: U.S. News and World Report

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is accusing the civilian political appointee who oversees the Air Force of attempting to influence the hotly contested Senate runoff election in Georgia, saying the timing of an announcement to station new, sophisticated aircraft at a base in Savannah "inherently politicizes" the process.

"The timing and decision to include Savannah, Georgia, in the announcement, when Georgia is focused on Senate runoff elections, raises questions about the secretary's motives," Rep. Adam Smith said in a statement late Tuesday. "The Air Force did not need to make this decision now – plain and simple – and should delay moving forward with these basing actions."

The Democrat from Washington state was concerned about the Air Force's announcement earlier in the day of preferred locations for a new fleet of C-130J Super Hercules, the newest version of the storied cargo planes. He said the process for determining where the planes will be based is still under review and that Congress may nullify the Air Force's announcement in its upcoming military funding bill. Smith also seemed unaware that the service was considering adding a fourth installation for the C-130s that would accommodate its plans for the Georgia Air National Guard Base and the 165th Airlift Wing there.

"I am disappointed that the Air Force rushed today's announcement, a decision that could mar the service's historically repeatable, transparent, and deliberate strategic basing process, which until now has helped insulate basing decisions from political influence," Smith said. "If the Air Force plods ahead, the service runs the risk of undermining the strategic basing process and may force Congress to take action to protect the basing process from being used to potentially influence congressional action or election outcomes."



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