...but atlantic city is a pretty dirty city, are you sure you would want to live there?

The 174th Fighter Wing maintains 18 F-16 Falcon fighter jets. The aging jets are being phased out as the Air Force moves to newer jets.

Hancock's six aircraft shelters are large enough to hold the Predator drones, Basile said.

Squadron could bring 460 jobs to Hancock
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
By Pedro Ramirez III
Staff writer

A squadron of unmanned aircraft is coming to Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, and with it as many as 460 jobs and a potential economic benefit to the Syracuse area, top political leaders are saying.

Gov. George Pataki, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rep. James Walsh announced Monday during a joint news conference at Hancock that the air base would be home to 12 Predator unmanned aerial drones. The three confirmed information first reported by The Post-Standard in March that the squadron would be located at the base in Mattydale.

What they would not say was whether the decision would protect Hancock from an upcoming round of base closures. The Defense Department may announce as early as this week which bases are on a list to be closed.

Here are what the politicians and military officials had to say about some of the questions their announcement has raised:

What's coming?

State political and military leaders expect a squadron of a dozen Predators would need about 460 people to operate and maintain the drones. Pataki says that could increase to about 1,000 workers as the mission evolves.

Some of Hancock's current 1,800 to 2,000 employees and Air Guard members could be retrained to support the Predator mission, said Col. Anthony B. Basile, commander of the 174th Fighter Wing based at Hancock. But, officials said the new mission would create some new jobs, too.

How common are these unmanned aircraft?

The new squadron is part of a U.S. Air Force expansion plan to increase the number of Predator squadrons from the three now based in Nevada to as many as 15, Air Force officials said.

The Air Force's three existing Predator squadrons are stationed at Nellis Air Force Base and Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Field in Nevada. There are about 40 predators in those squadrons, a Nellis Air Force Base spokesman said.

Besides placing a Predator squadron in New York, the Air Force plans to assign Predator missions to the Texas and Arizona Air National Guards.

When is this happening?

The equipment for the new squadron isn't expected to arrive in New York until fiscal year 2009, said Lt. Col. Frank Smolinsky, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon. Fiscal year 2009 starts Oct. 1, 2008. But all of the support staff must be put in place and trained before the drones arrive.

Does this mean the base won't be shut down?

Pataki called Monday's announcement a homerun for Central New York and also said that the new mission ensures that Hancock will continue to play a significant role in the U.S. Air Force's future for years to come.

However, Pataki, Clinton and Walsh all hedged about the base's future in relation to the current base-closure process.

They will have to wait until Friday when the Defense Department is expected to release its list of bases scheduled to be closed or realigned before they can address that question.

Why choose Hancock?

It makes sense because of its proximity to Fort Drum, military officials said. The Air Guard members at Hancock would be able to train in conjunction with soldiers at Fort Drum, they said.

Pataki said New York's Air Guard assessed the capability of five bases in the state to determine which one would be best able to handle the Predator mission. After that process, it made a recommendation to him that Hancock is most suitable, Pataki said.

What is the economic impact? Officials couldn't say with certainty how many new jobs the new mission would create. Hancock now employs more than 1,800 people with an annual payroll of about $53 million.

About 40 percent of the new Predator jobs will be full-time positions, Pataki said.

Hancock's six aircraft shelters are large enough to hold the Predator drones, Basile said. The base also has several acres of space available around the flight line to construct any buildings needed to support the Predators.

Who is responsible for landing the squadron?

Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Maguire Jr., thanked Pataki, Clinton and Walsh for their efforts in bringing the new mission to Hancock Field.

Maguire, the state's adjutant general, has worked with all three political leaders to advocate for the state's military bases, he said.

Clinton is a member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee. Walsh was recently appointed as the chairman of the subcommittee on Military Life and Veterans Affairs for the House of Representatives.

How does this affect the F-16s?

The 174th Fighter Wing maintains 18 F-16 Falcon fighter jets. The aging jets are being phased out as the Air Force moves to newer jets.

Officials say they are concerned, but they don't know how the new Predator mission will affect the F-16 fighter squadron now based at Hancock. The 30 or so F-16 fighter pilots can be trained to operate the new Predators if called on to do so, Basile said.

Through its 50-plus-year history, the 174th has retrained on new aircraft as the military's needs changed.

“So, we've made it as difficult for the BRAC commission as possible to say Syracuse isn't going to continue to exist. We could have both missions. We will have the Predator mission. We could have both. We could have both for a period of time. It's really. It's not certain yet,” said Representative James Walsh.

Pataki says basing the Predator squadron at Hancock is a home run for the people of central New York. He says the move will allow the 174th Fighter Wing, a unit in the New York Air National Guard, to play a critical role in the nation's future military operations.