(Anchorage) - Today's decision by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission to keep the 18 F-16 fighter jets at Eielson Air Force Base, but transfer 18 A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft to another base outside of Alaska was greeted with a mixture of relief and mild disappointment by House Speaker John Harris (R - Valdez) and Sen. Gene Therriault (R - North Pole). Both lawmakers represent the base and the surrounding communities.

"Obviously, I'm very disappointed that we had to lose any aircraft and the personnel that work with them. But I'm pleased that the panel didn't change the base to a warm status and I want to thank all those throughout the state who worked so hard to save Eielson, especially President Hamilton and our Fairbanks delegation. We in the legislature will continue to do everything we can to ensure that Eielson remains a vital and viable part of our national defense," said Speaker Harris.

The BRAC commission voted 7-0 against the Pentagon's plan to put Eielson into "warm" status. If that happened, the base would technically have remained open but all the aircraft would have been transferred away from the base. About 3,000 military and civilian jobs on the base would have been eliminated and sent an economic shockwave throughout the Fairbanks area.

The commission's decision clearly shows how important they believe Eielson is to national security.

Sen. Therriault reflected on how the community banded together to save Eielson. "Thanks to a tremendous effort by the community, the right information made it in front of the Commissioners and they listened. We knew that our story was compelling and that the combination of training space and forward deployment capabilities positioned Eielson and its personnel to serve the nation well."

"I am grateful for the widespread support we received from all corners of the state in support of our effort. As a frontier state, the economic well being of one part of the state impacts every other part. As Alaskans, we hung together and won a great victory for our state and our nation," said Sen. Therriault.

BRAC members also decided to close Galena Air Base in the years ahead. Delaying the closure of that base allows the Legislature, the Murkowski administration and Alaska's Congressional Delegation time to formulate a plan that will help Galena absorb the impact to its economy.

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