Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Peters Township staff, students, parents, neighbors and veterans participated Monday in the annual Memorial Day festivities.
Peters Township community members arrived bright and early to Peters Township Middle School for the start of the annual red, white and blue festivities. Township staff, students, parents, neighbors and veterans gathered to march in—and watch—the parade, which progressed down East McMurray Road and concluded in the VFW Post 764 parking lot on Valley Brook Road. Peters Township police escorted the parade participants. A sea of red and white led the route—including the VFW Post 764 Color Guard, the American Legion Post 944 Color Guard and the Mighty Indian Marching Band. A 20-year veteran, band director Milt Barney served in the Air Force and said his father fought in WWII. Two cars carried the main speaker and clergy of the soon-to-…
Monday, May 7, 2012
Military supporters Saturday gathered at a rally to protest the Air Force's planned closure of the 911th Airlift Wing.
Hundreds of military supporters gathered earlier today on Airside Drive in Moon to protest the planned 2013 closure of the 911th Airlift Wing. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, as well as members of Moon Township's Board of Supervisors were among those who gathered in Airport Cargo Building A to express opposition to the Air Force's decision to shutter the base. Despite its recently announced plans to close the Moon-based airlift wing, the Air Force has invested more than $58 million in infrastructure at the base in the past five years, according to Murphy's recent testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. The base Sunday will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of Building 226…
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Veterans and local officials protest the planned closing of one Moon Township military base and reductions at another.
The region's military supporters joined county and national officials Tuesday night in Pittsburgh to protest the planned closure of the Moon-based 911th Airlift Wing. More than 150 veterans and others gathered at a rally at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland to urge U.S. military officials to reconsider closing the airlift wing. The Air Force announced plans earlier this year to shutter the 911th in 2013, eliminating 1,100 military and 280 civilian jobs in the move. The neighboring 171st Refueling Wing also has been targeted for realignment and personnel layoffs. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, stood alongside U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, and Allegheny …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Rep. Tim Murphy is slated to meet with military and community leaders Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy is slated to meet with military and community leaders Thursday to discuss efforts to prevent the closure of the 911th Airlift Wing. Personnel at the 911th have been told they will learn March 6 about the Air Force's plans for them following the closure. On Monday night, Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, said he met with Maj. Gen. Wesley Craig to discuss a proposal to close the 911th and reduce the number of aircraft at the 171st Refueling Wing. In a statement, Murphy said the general pledged his support for the facilities and efforts to prevent the planned closure of the 911th and reduction of aircraft at the 171st. Murphy and other members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation in recent weeks have spoken out against the…
Friday, February 10, 2012
Rep. Tim Murphy says military officials did not prepare a cost-analysis study before planning to close the 911th Airlift Wing.
U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy said he was disappointed after meeting Thursday with Air Force officials in an effort to change their plans to close the Moon-based 911th Airlift Wing. Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, said military officials remained unmoved after a meeting in which he and other members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation argued its cost-effectiveness and its value to western Pennsylvania. Air Force officials are expected to provide lawmakers next week with data about civilian employees of the 911th and how the closing would affect them, Murphy said. The Air Force decided to shutter the base without conducting a cost-analysis study that would compare its operations to those at other air bases in the country, he said. The Air Force …
