CUTS FEARED AT EDWARDS AFB; ANTELOPE VALLEY SENATOR LOBBIES TO KEEP THOUSANDS OF DEFENSE JOBS.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer A Pentagon study examining how weapons test centers should be consolidated has Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley leaders concerned that it will open the door for programs and jobs to be taken away from Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. . All of the Defense Department's laboratories and research and development centers, including Edwards, will be examined in the study, dubbed ``Vision 21,'' to determine where consolidations could be made. The earliest recommendations could be incorporated into defense budgets in 1999 or 2000. ``There are no plans under foot to make any changes right now,'' said Maj. Wes Davis, an Air Force spokesman in Washington, D.C. ``If there are any proposals out there, they are very loosely based.'' Among the ideas being looked at is making the Air Force Flight Test Center, the main unit at Edwards, a wing of a test and evaluation center at Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is the home of the United States Air Force 96th Air Base Wing of the Air Force Materiel Command, and is also headquarters for more than 45 associate units. in Florida, said state Sen. William J. ``Pete'' Knight, R-Palmdale. That would reduce the number of workers at Edwards, Knight said. ``Everything that can go to Eglin will go to Eglin,'' said Knight, a former vice commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center. With about 13,000 workers, Edwards is the largest center of employment in the Antelope Valley. The Edwards work force includes 3,632 military personnel and 2,899 government civilians at the Air Force Flight Test Center. Knight, a former X-15 rocket test pilot, is urging California state and congressional leaders to fight the idea of consolidating Edwards under Eglin. In a May 15 letter to Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that , Knight argued that encroaching population growth around Eglin and its flat terrain limit its ability to conduct flight tests. ``Testing new aircraft or pushing an aircraft to its flight limits is inherently dangerous. This type of testing is normally conducted at Edwards where access to large, dry lakes is available for emergency landings,'' Knight wrote. ``This testing can only be conducted at Eglin at considerable risk to the pilot and taxpayer. Flying an experimental X-series aircraft from Eglin presents an unacceptable risk to pilots, population and the test program.'' Similar letters were sent to U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is the senior U.S. Senator from California, having held office as a senator since 1992. She is a member of the Democratic Party. and Barbara Boxer Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and the current junior U.S. Senator from the State of California. A member of the Democratic Party, Boxer was first elected to the U.S. of California, and to Rep. Bill Thomas For other people with similar names, see . William Marshall Thomas (born December 6 1941), commonly known as Bill Thomas, American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979–2007, representing the 22nd District of , R-Bakersfield, whose district includes most of Edwards; and Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, whose district includes the southern portion of the base. Knight said he has not yet received responses. Knight says flight testing should be consolidated at Edwards, which would make room at Eglin for the consolidation of other defense bases near the Gulf of Mexico Noun 1. Gulf of Mexico - an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico Golfo de Mexico Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east . ``It's going to come to a head in the near future in how they combine and consolidate test and evaluation centers,'' Knight said. Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts Frank Roberts may refer to:
``I personally think it would be a disaster,'' Roberts said. |
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