SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — Scott Air Force Base has been chosen as one of 10 finalists for the home of the newly created Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center.
The new command will report directly to the Air Force Materiel Command, which is located at Scott. The final site selection will be announced in January. The number of jobs created by the new command was not immediately available.
U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart, D-Belleville, whose district encompasses Scott, vowed to fight to bring the new command's headquarters to Scott.
Enyart noted that Scott is also a finalist for the site of a new facility to house the National Geospatial Agency, or NGA, when it moves from its current home near downtown St. Louis, bringing 3,000 jobs along the way.
"The entire Illinois delegation comes together to fight for new jobs, and new installations," Enyart said in a statement. "And we will continue to fight for the NGA relocation and for the new command center."
The other finalists for the new command are Barksdale AFB, La.; Ellsworth AFB, S.D.; Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Joint Base Andrews-NAFW, Md.; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Joint Base San Antonio, Texas; Peterson AFB, Colo.; Tyndall AFB, Fla.; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
The Air Force's decision to create the new support center flows from the flying service's efforts to streamline and reduce its operational footprint and save money.
The new command will "consolidate installation management functions currently being performed at every major command and will serve as the single intermediate-level headquarters for the delivery of installation support capabilities," according to an Air Force announcement released Monday.
The new command aligns Air Force-wide installation support responsibilities and resources to one "accountable commander," the statement added.
"The consolidation will drive standardized processes, eliminate overhead and drive down costs," according to Timothy K. Bridges, the deputy assistant Air Force secretary for installations. "It makes good business sense to centralize installation support the way we already centralize other support functions such as science and technology, test and sustainment."
Other members of the metro-east's congressional delegation were also quick to praise Scott and tout its suitability for the new center.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate's No. 2 leader, called Scott "our nation's major air mobility hub" and cited its host role for an Air National Guard unit, as well as the U.S. Transportation Command, which oversees all movements of goods globally for all branches of the U.S. military.
"As one of our nation's premier military assets, Scott would be well-positioned to host this newly created Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center," Durbin said in a statement. "And as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, I will continue to advocate for this mission and for other investments in Scott's future."
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Vandalia, noted that the Illinois delegations approach has always been to work together "to keep Scott Air Force Base strong for our men and women in uniform and the local economy and in a position to lead for the future."
Davis called Scott's selection as a site finalist for the new command "incredibly exciting for Scott and the entire area, and speaks highly to the skills and abilities of those who work at Scott each and every day."
U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, also heralded Tuesday's news, saying in a written statement that Scott "offers an excellent location for any centralized processing or command center, as that is a specialty that already exists on base. The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center would find space, security, quality workforce, and welcoming community."
The announcement that Scott is a finalist for the new Air Force mission support center is the latest in a string of good news for the air base.
In June, the Air Force announced Scott will receive two new cyber-security squadrons, which will include 300 new jobs. The new squadrons, and $16 million in building expansions and renovations, are scheduled to be in place by the summer of 2016.
In July, Scott was named the top place to live in the country for Air Force personnel, according to an Air Force Times survey of 88 air bases across the United States.
Also in July, Scott was named one of eight finalists for the new home of the NGA facility, with the other seven candidates located in St. Louis and St. Louis County.
©2014 the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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