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Growth at YARS worthy of support

With a future round of U.S. military base closures or realignments looming, this week’s announcement that $9.4 million is being earmarked in President Barack Obama’s budget proposal to fund improvements at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station should be viewed as good news.

If approved, the investment would significantly upgrade the air base’s aging outdoor structure to a more state-of-the-art indoor firing range that could accommodate all types of firearms from handguns to heavy weaponry. The new range would be used in training thousands of airmen and local, state and federal law enforcement officers.

The measure might go a long way in helping to lessen vulnerability of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station as base realignments are expected to come into play nationwide in coming years.

But a new firing range is just a start.

The looming Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, process isn’t likely to happen until 2017 at the earliest, but it already is a focus of U.S. legislators and military officials from Ohio facilities who met last month in Columbus to begin preparing to battle for the future of their bases and installations. U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, who attended the meeting, described it as just the “beginning of a conversation” to show Ohio military installations are doing their missions well, cost effectively and better than anybody else.

A new firing range at YARS could help achieve those goals through improved training, but it also could help make the local air base more valuable in terms of its ties to the community. Sharing public services, equipment and facilities is something we consistently advocate, and, if used properly, this facility could offer that opportunity. Additionally, we would suggest that if this facility becomes a reality, it also should be made available for use by the public, whose tax dollars would be footing the bill.

Of course, the president’s proposed budget will require Congressional approval. The next step in securing the funding will include a fight by those elected officials on both sides of the aisle who represent communities that benefit from Ohio military installations. Certainly, local representatives on the House Appropriations Committee – including U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Howland, and David Joyce, R-Russell Township in Geauga County – are expected to be on board.

Also helping in the fight to preserve the value of the local air base are U.S. Sens. Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Locally, there also is an effort growing to rally support behind the air base. The Regional Chamber has asked the Western Reserve Port Authority to commit $75,000 to create, fund and staff a regional military affairs commission to advocate for YARS. The Chamber also is seeking private foundation funding to help in the effort.

Studies have shown that YARS, the area’s fourth-largest employer, had a local economic impact of about $186 million last year. We all must be on board in the fight to maintain or even grow this valuable asset in our own back yard.

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