Springfield ANG will not meet with the Blog

I spoke with Major Laura Powers of the 178th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard in Springfield yesterday. As Public Relations Officer at the time, she had been my liaison when I did an article on jet noise for the YS News about a year-and-a-half ago. Yesterday, she returned my call from last week. She told me that she has been promoted to Wing Executive Officer and another officer has taken her place as Public Affairs Officer. Unfortunately, that person will be off base until Aug. 1.

The base has started a new public Website, http://www.178fw.ang.af.mil/, which will eventually be set up to handle noise complaints. However, it will not be functional in that regard for another couple weeks. Meanwhile, Powers said, the telephone number for noise complaints that has been posted on poles around town is still good: 937-327-2332. She noticed! However, she has not read the letters to the YS News complaining about the noise, she said.

As for whether the Colonel or someone else from the base would meet with an organized group of citizens from the village, she said she would have to check on that. In any event, the Blog will not be getting an interview with the Colonel this time around, Powers said, because it is not a recognized news source.

The best the Blog can do for now is conduct a poll (See sidebar.) and suggest that a “recognized news source” give this story the coverage it deserves.

Note: It is 7:50 a.m. As I write this from my home at the south end of town, the jets are already scrambling overhead.

Is this retaliation?

Yesterday, the Yellow Springs News published a letter from Harvey Paige that urged residents to oppose the Springfield Air National Guard Base's training mission for Dutch pilots. This morning, the F-16's have been scrambling all around the skies over town in what seems like retaliation. Paige's well reasoned and well researched letter points out that the Dutch are making their noise here, not in the Netherlands.

A couple years ago, I interviewed the Colonel-in-charge about this problem. One of the things I learned was that the Dutch version of the F-16 uses a different (and apparently noisier) engine than the American planes. They fly these planes over here from the Netherlands, refueling them several times over the Atlantic. As I recall, there are 16 of them. Wouldn't it be cheaper to leave them there and send one or two trainers to teach them in the skies over Holland? Or would that drive home the unpopular point that they are our still our allies in the war in Afghanistan?