WHB ANG Base Gets Cash, Goes On

By Ian Stark

The 106th Rescue Wing of the ANG (Air National Guard) welcomed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congressman Timothy Bishop to the Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach on Saturday to announce that funding was secured for critical improvements to their aging facilities. The two representatives used the opportunity to both compliment the rescue wing on its past achievements, and to reassure the guardsmen that closure proceedings have been staved off for the time being.

Wing Commander Col. Mike Canders provided background on his storied outfit, the oldest unit in the ANG, that has provided continuous service since 1908. This unit has achieved the longest over-water rescue mission in American history, and was not only the first ANG wing on hand at the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, but was also responsible for finding the last survivor extracted from the rubble of the collapsed towers.

Canders said the 106th has tripled in size since the 9/11 attacks, and has recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as providing vital efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina - saving over 300 lives in the process. However, the base still uses training facilities that date back to the 1950s, and "are inadequate for optimal training." It was for that reason, through the federal government's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) proceedings, that the base at Gabreski faced a likely shutdown in 2005.

Canders said that, through the efforts of many local and New York State representatives, the expected closure three years ago had been avoided and the funding for necessary improvements had finally been secured, acknowledging Bishop and Clinton for their support. Bishop said, "It was just three or four years ago that we were fighting for the very existence of this base...and I'm honored to join Senator Clinton as well as representatives from both sides of the aisle to see to it that we kept this base right here where it belongs, on eastern Long Island."

Senator Clinton praised the guardsmen, stating that if she and Bishop "hadn't been able to point to the record of the 106th, the case [for funding] couldn't have been made." She called Bishop a "great ally and friend" and a "tremendous advocate for his district here in Suffolk County."

"Last year, $8.4 million was secured for funding for Phase I of the new pararescue facility ...the case was made and Congress is responding....[the 106th is] now on the brink of receiving approval for the final phase of construction - $7.5 million dollars," said Clinton, calling the achievement a "labor of love."

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