In other words, the 62nd’s emphasis does not have a narrow geographical specificity, such as, say, the defense of the Puget Sound region. According to the official website, the 62nd’s “mission is to execute global airlift.” McChord’s primary function is as home base for the 62nd Airlift Wing, comprised of 40 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes. Political opposition shot down this initiative. The closure of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in 1991 and the redeployment of its aircraft to NAS Lemoore in central California. Indeed, no less than Dick Cheney, the secretary of defense to George H.W. Clearly, military facilities and assets are shuffled about on a regular basis. military bases have been closed, apparently without weakening our defense posture.
Since the waning of the Cold War in the late 1980s, over 350 U.S. Air Force Base stationed there be closed and its assets redeployed elsewhere without harming national security, and, if so, is McChord large enough for adaptation and expansion? The field has excellent proximity to Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, and its access to Interstate 5 and to Amtrak could hardly be better.īut could the U.S. Right off the bat, it is obvious that McChord would have several advantages in this regard that could not possibly be equaled by any other potential site. This would be to adapt McChord Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for civilian use. While there is a general consensus that a new airport eventually will be needed to supplement Sea-Tac and Portland-PDX, it’s always “not in my back yard.”įortunately, there may be a worthwhile alternative to an entirely new facility on a greenfield site far from population centers. Similar opposition to such a development is rife around Toledo and in ThurstonĬounty. On a recent trip to Snoqualmie Falls via the backroads east of Yelm and McKenna, I noticed a large number of yard signs strongly critical of the prospective development of a major commercial airport in this remote, rustic area of Pierce County, some 60 miles from Seattle.
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