‘Ready for it’

Published 8:30 am Thursday, April 29, 2010

    Everyone in the banquet room at Northwood Country Club Wednesday night wanted to hear what Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Freeman, adjutant general for the Mississippi National Guard, had to say about the continuing mission of the 186th Air Refueling Wing.

    Judging by the lack of questions after Freeman spoke to the airmen, Air Force Association members and members of the community, Freeman covered all the bases. Chief among them was what is in store for the 186th ARW in the coming months — years?

    Freeman addressed the crowd at the annual Meridian Air Force Association Meeting of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery chapter telling them he was proud of the tremendous effort put forth by the wing and telling them missions already in progress, and those on the near horizon, would only bolster the base in the face of losing the air refueling mission hit by the latest BRAC closures.

    “I’m proud of the men and women of the 186th,” said Freeman. “We are losing the tankers but we are gaining other missions and will continue to fight for even more.”

    Freeman cited the ongoing bridge mission of the MC-12 surveillance aircraft training unit. The MC-12 is already in the Iraqi and Afghanistan theaters paying huge dividends in providing the latest technology to give ground commanders the most up to date intelligence. To date about 65 crews have been trained in Meridian for the overseas, wartime mission. Many more will rotate through because all MC-12 training is centered at Key Field.

    As 186th ARW Operations Commander Lt. Col. Mike Nabors said, “Everything MC-12 has to come to us and we are ready for it.” 

    The mission, said Freeman, that will take over for the loss of eight KC-135 Statotankers hinges on the C-27 Spartan, an air mobility aircraft on a smaller scale of the C-130 Hercules used widely today. Freeman said the 186th is going to get two of these aircraft in 2012, after the last of the KC-135s leave at the end of 2011. More importantly, and Freeman stressed he and state leaders and delegates are fighting hard to secure this mission, is the Field Training Unit that would come with the influx of C-27s to Key Field. If this were to occur, the FTU and the other C-27 flight and ground crews, would almost offset the loss of the tankers in the number of personnel and the overall economic impact to Meridian and Lauderdale County.

    “The 186th has already proven it is more than capable of handling a training unit of this type with the outstanding work they’ve done with the MC-12 program,” Freeman said. “Our assets here at the 186th are just too valuable to be overlooked.”

    Meridian Mayor Cheri Barry was also listening intently on what the general had to say. She said she attended the meeting to show her support for the 186th ARW as well as all of the military men and women who make Meridian and Lauderdale County their home.

    “I will do everything in my power to support the military bases and personnel in Meridian because we do all realize what a great asset they are to us,” said Barry. “But it is an ongoing fight. Every resident of Meridian should stand ready to support our military here.”