By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Members of the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission met at the 139th Airlift Wing as the Missouri Air National Guard awaits word on whether the wing based at Rosecrans Memorial Airport will receive the upgraded C-130 cargo planes.
Missouri Military Advocate, Harry Roberts, says the commission met Tuesday at the air base as the 139th waits for the Pentagon to give the go ahead for Rosecrans to receive upgraded C-130s.
“If we’re able to secure those here for the 139th, it’ll probably guarantee the mission here for another 30 to 40 years,” Roberts tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “Do I think we’re at a threat? Sure, you’re always at a threat until you are able to secure that next set of air frames.”
Roberts, the former Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner, says it is important for the commission to tour military installations across the state. And while Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster is known internationally as the sole base for the B-2 stealth bomber and Ft. Leonard Wood has a commanding presence as an Army base, the 139th based is not overlooked. Roberts points out the 139th has an international presence since it trains NATO crews and others at its Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center.
The Air National Guard unit at Rosecrans had hoped to be among the first units to receive the new C-130J cargo planes to replace its C-130H fleet. The Pentagon, though, passed over the base with its first allocations of the “J” model.
Roberts points out the Air Guard has many more units to upgrade, giving St. Joseph time.
“You have to have a minimum of 271 C-130s in the fleet,” according to Roberts. “So, that helps make sure that we’re not really right now at a big threat of losing our mission here, but it also helps extend the time period in which we’re able to secure those new aircraft.”
Two factors play in St. Joseph’s favor. The 139th Airlift Wing is in the midst of building an entirely new headquarters at Rosecrans, in the northern portion of the airfield, away from the flood plain. Rosecrans Memorial Airport is undergoing a complete makeover, something that will replace an air traffic control tower and buildings constructed in the 1950s. A new runway has been opened. Construction is underway for other improvements.
Gov. Mike Parson appointed Roberts Missouri Military Advocate in 2022. In the role, Roberts has the task of keeping watch over a military presence that generates considerable economic impact to Missouri.
“The overall economic impact to the state of Missouri, if you figure all of it in, with our installations and also our defense contractors, like Boeing and Honeywell, it can be worth anywhere between $10 to 15 billion of federal funding a year,” Roberts states.
Roberts, who still lives in St. Joseph while working in Jefferson City, says it was especially gratifying for him to show off the 139th to the commission members.
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