By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Natalie Hawn has been sworn in as the newest member of the Missouri Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission.
Hawn is taking the roll to advocate on behalf of the Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing, a vital part of St. Joseph, including what it generates for the city economy.
“So, it is important that we continue to advocate for them,” Hawn tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “They’re our fourth largest employer in Buchanan County and they also bring in a tremendous amount of money through economic development. Well, I would consider it economic development, but it’s really money also in tourism, just money into the community dollar-wise, because of the TAC school.”
The Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center at the 139th base at Rosecrans Memorial Airport trains pilots from across the county and around the world, especially NATO allies. Those attending the training stay in area hotels and spend money during their stay, some taking in the various sites.
Hawn says the 139th is well known, because it trains so many pilots at the AATTC.
“And it really also puts us on the map,” Hawn says. “So when I go to places and I’m on Air Force bases and I’m meeting folks, if they have been a pilot in the Air Force, they have trained at our TAC school. Even if they’re from California, they know where St. Joseph, Missouri is.”
Hawn says being on the commission gives her a platform to push for the 139th to get the upgraded C-130 cargo planes so vital to its mission; the C-130J models to replace the aging C-130H models. Hawn says a recent evaluation of the 139th from the Air Force indicates it is in good position to get the new planes, even though the 139th was passed over during the initial allocation of the modern cargo planes.
“We know as they looked at us from a scoring capacity that we’re next in line if you look strictly at scoring,” Hawn says. “Though sometimes politics gets in there and advocating and having the right connections helps.”
Hawn says the 139th is too vital to the St. Joseph economy to jeopardize its future by not getting the upgraded version of the C-130.
Hawn will help maintain a voice for St. Joseph on the commission. Royal Turner of St. Joseph rotates off the commission. Hawn takes his place.
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