Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta has been chosen as the home to a new training mission aimed at helping Afghan security forces defend their country, pending an environmental assessment.
U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both Georgia Republicans, announced Wednesday that Moody is the Air Force’s preferred location for 120 Afghan pilots and maintenance service personnel, 14 U.S. Air force instructor pilots and 21 U.S. maintenance support personnel involved in the mission.
Moody was one of three air bases under consideration for the A-29 Afghan Light Air Support training mission. Moody’s infrastructure, range access, weather, and community support stood out, the senators said. The Air Force will conduct an environmental assessment to validate Moody’s selection later this summer.
“After 12 years the United States is transferring security responsibilities to the Afghan National Security Forces,” Chambliss, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said. “I can think of few better missions for Moody Air Force base than to assist these men and women as they prepare to defend their new democracy. ”
Moody is also home to the A-10, an aging close-air support plane the Pentagon wants to moth ball. But the U.S. House blocked the proposal last week in a military spending bill that prevents the military from retiring the plane. Moody could lose as many as 2,000 jobs without the A-10 and if the base does not get a mission for the forthcoming replacement plane, the F-35.
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