WASHINGTON—Congressman Troy Balderson, Congressman Mike Turner, and U.S. Senator Rob Portman today reacted to the announcement from the Department of the Air Force designating the Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard Base as the preferred location for the new Cyber Warfare Wing mission.
The announcement follows months of determined efforts by Ohio’s Congressional Delegation. Yesterday’s announcement came shortly after the entire Ohio Delegation joined in a bipartisan letter expressing unanimous support for the transition to a new mission for the base.
“I was ecstatic to receive the phone call from Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall yesterday congratulating us on the Department’s decision to name Mansfield as its preferred location for the new Cyber Warfare Wing,” said Congressman Balderson (OH-12), who represents Mansfield. “This has been a multi-faceted effort, over many months, involving elected officials at all levels, and a credit to the tremendous outpouring of support received from the Mansfield community. The Cyber Wing will launch Mansfield and Ohio to the forefront of our nation’s 21st century defense capabilities.”
“The Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base and the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard have been critical to our country's national security and a pillar of the defense community in our State dating back to the 1940s,” said Congressman Turner (OH-10), Member of the House Armed Services Committee. “I am eager to see the base acquire the Air Force’s new Cyber Warfare Mission to continue this valuable work. The reinvestment into the Mansfield base will create more jobs for Ohioans and bring the base into the 21st century while reinforcing Ohio as a leader in National Security. I thank Rep. Troy Balderson for his leadership as well as the Ohio Congressional Delegation, Ohio Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, and Governor DeWine for their support on the critical modernization of the Mansfield Base.
“I am pleased that the Air Force has designated Ohio’s Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard Base as its preferred location for a new Information Warfare Wing mission,” said Senator Portman. “This is a testament to the integrity and work ethic of Ohioans as they contribute to the continual effort of keeping our nation safe.”
Mansfield-Lahm Air Base is home to 179th Air National Guard Airlift Wing. Its strategic location and unique local assets ensure exceptional cyber capabilities for the warfighters and has received strong community support for the new mission.
Expected to bring an additional 175 Airmen and associated support jobs, the new Cyber Warfare mission will play an important role in bolstering the nation’s capabilities to combat cyber threats.
Projected Timeline
Fall 2021: Environmental Impact Analysis Process complete
Fall 2022: Aircraft divestment, first equipment arrival
C 130Hs divested and mission transition begins NLT September 30, 2022
FY24: Initial Operational Capability (IOC) one Unit Type Code (UTC) for each squadron equipped and trained
FY27: Full Operational Capability (FOC) permanent facilities complete
The official designation is contingent on congressional approval to retire eight C-130H aircraft from Mansfield and the reduction of the C-130 inventory from 287 to 279 aircraft in fiscal year 2022.
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