New mission saves Cannon AFB
Source: AP

CANNON AFB, NM -- Cannon AFB, recently targeted for closure, will
become a special operations base, Pentagon and elected officials
announced this morning. Cannon will become the Air Force's 16th Special
Ops Wing within the next two years, US Sen Pete Domenici, R-NM, said.

The federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission last August
accepted the Pentagon's recommendation to send Cannon's three F-16
fighter squadrons elsewhere. But the panel stopped short of closing the
eastern New Mexico base. Instead, the commission turned Cannon into an
enclave, keeping it open in a much-reduced form while the Defense
Department looked for another mission for it.

The Pentagon had recommended closing the base as part of an effort to
streamline the nation's military complex. But commissioners said Cannon
was valuable and could have a future use.

AL STERN Satellite Beach FL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FloridaMilcom/