Sen. Casey: Air Force Should Close Golf Courses Before Bases
MOON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Senator Bob Casey was in Pittsburgh Friday afternoon, meeting privately with officials at the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township.
The base is slated to be closed, but Casey says the Air Force has some misplaced priorities.
At a press conference near the base, Casey again questioned the Air Force's plan to retire the C-130 aircrafts at the base.
"They need to provide us with an analysis, a rationale of why they made this decision."
Casey says the 911th has out-performed other bases that are not closing.
"We've got a skilled workforce here that has a lot of experience. They've exceeded their recruitment goals over the last seven years. So you have a lot of built in advantages because of location."
While Casey is especially critical of the Air Force for closing this base without doing a proper analysis, what really gets him is that they're doing this while maintaining 65 golf courses at other Air Force bases around the world.
"We know that across the board there have to be cost-savings, but when you have 65 golf courses around the world that the Air Force has, they should look to places like that for some savings," Casey says.
It's true. The Air Force does have golf courses all over the world and they are generally closed to the public unless you're military, retired military or a guest or family member.
The courses have often been used by presidents and politicians to socialize.
One famous 2011 outing occurred at the golf course at Andrews Air Force Base when President Obama and Vice President Biden played golf with two Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Casey says he's not trying to shut them all down -- it's a matter of priorities.
"I'll be anxious to see what they say about that.
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