Last of Northeast’s active military airfields fights to survive (NAS Brunswick Likely to Close)

AP | 3/28/05

[El Gato]

Doesn't this create a serious air defense gap?

P-3s don't provide air defense. They would make shark bait of that supposed terrorist fleet, not mention noisy ChiCom submarines.

[ACDSWIZ]

Is Captain Mikes still open? Love the chow there. the Captains plate was a killer.

[yankeedame]

What happened to Hanscom AFB?

That one is still active.....

and so is Pease, which I thought was in New Hampshire....

As far as I know it still is, since that (on-base) is where we've got our bank account. Pease AFB, I believe, was moth-balled many,many moons ago.

[El Gato]

Hanscom is an R&D base, no aircraft assigned. They don't even own the runways anymore, although AF can still use them.

Hanscom AFB, Mass. 01731-5000; 17 mi. NW of Boston. Phone: 781-377-4441; DSN 478- 5980. Majcom: AFMC. Host: Electronic Systems Center (AFMC). Mission: manages development and acquisition of command and control systems. Major tenants: AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate–Hanscom; AFRL’s Sensors Directorate–Hanscom. History: activated 1941. Named for Laurence G. Hanscom, a pre- WWII advocate of private aviation, killed in a lightplane accident in 1941. Area: 846 acres. Runway: no flying mission; transient USAF aircraft use runways of Laurence G. Hanscom Field, state-operated airfield adjoining the base. Altitude: 133 ft. Personnel: permanent party military, 1,478; DOD civilians, 1,371. Housing: single family, officer, 359, enlisted, 491; unaccompanied, UOQ, 17, UAQ/UEQ, 220; visiting, VOQ 25, VAQ/VEQ, 93, TLF, 39. Clinic.

Pease is an ANG base now.

Pease Intl. Tradeport ANGS, Portsmouth, N.H. 03803-0157. Phone: 603-430-2453; DSN 852- 2453. Unit: 157th Air Refueling Wing (ANG). Area: 218 acres. Runway: 11,318 ft. Altitude: 101 ft. Full-time personnel: 320.

[PhiKapMom]

Hanscom doesn't have a runway that the Air Force could use except for the very small executive planes. It is only there because of the Kennedy's and MITRE people refuse to transfer. Should have been closed years ago.

[ProudVet77]

Acccording to the lastest budget the 737 MMA project is on the block and likely to be cancelled/cutback.

http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst_story.jsp?id=news/01035wna.xml
"Items facing the chopping block include up to 175 of USAF's F/A-22s, the Navy's Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) replacement for the P-3 and DD-X (which would have begun introducing directed energy weapons), as well as a cut of as much as $1 billion from the Marine Corps' V-22 program."

[PhiKapMom]

Just read where Lockheed is delivering some more upgraded planes to you folks. My daughter and son-in-law work on the P-3's there. My daughter just hates winter with a passion.

[PhiKapMom]

When did they extend the runway at Hanscom? At one time they couldn't fly those planes in and out -- not enough runway. AWACS is stationed here at Tinker AFB and only administratively controlled at Hanscom.

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks -- I knew they didn't have a flying mission!

[gov_bean_ counter]

Being on the base was fine, but if you are trying to raise a family, where are you going to live? The schools in Millington aren't rated well, You can go to Tipton County for better schools, but you run into some serious good ole boy networks. Plus the family trees up there look like telephone poles. A GS 11 can't get into Collierville or Germantown. Cordova gets annexed by King Willie. That leaves Bartlet or Shelby County. I guess if you have been there for a long time or you have family it is a more desirable place. Newcomers have a tough time though.

[ProudVet77]

"Hanscom doesn't have a runway that the Air Force could use except for the very small executive planes."
I've seen USAF 707 type (JSTAR? wasn't sure) land there, it has a 7000 ft runway
http://www.fltplan.com/AirportInformation/KBED.htm
It's budget and mission was expanded about 3 yers ago. Many of my neightbors work there. I should mention MIT/Lincoln Labs is located 3 or 4 miles from Hanscom.
"The 2,600 active-duty personnel and 1,800 civilians at Hanscom make up the Electronic Systems Center"....

[Poohbah]

I'm sitting a stones throw from the former NAS Memphis & Naval Air Technical Training Center, the former closed, the latter moved to NAS Pensacola in the mid 1990's.

Ah, memories of Marine Air Training Support Squadron 902...

[ProudVet77]

The reason they couldn't use it was that the people of Concord and Lincoln who have huge political influence around here, prevented them due to the noise. They do all kinds of electronics development there. The planes (4 engine 707 types) aren't flown out of there for missions. They use the facility for installing and testing electronics, so it's not an everyday kind of event. First time I saw one headed in I was over in Acton, and just about put a load in my pants. We see the executive types all the time, but the 707 in the sky over Acton at say 2500 feet was weird. It looked like a monster.

[Trimegistus]

How is Brunswick the last military airbase in New England? We've got C-5s out of Westover (MA) and A-10s out of Westfield (also MA) overhead all the time!

Or are those just heavily-armed business jets?

[Trimegistus]

How is Brunswick the last military airbase in New England? We've got C-5s out of Westover (MA) and A-10s out of Westfield (also MA) overhead all the time!

Or are those just heavily-armed business jets?

[Fido969]

Yeah, it is last I checked - I usually go to Fat Boy's when I go "out", though, then next door for a dip-top cone.
.

[FreedomCalls]

The smaller NAS South Weymouth (MA) was closed in 1997. The area has never recovered and the base remains a wasteland of abandoned buildings and rotting runways.

So what? The Department of Defense is not a jobs program.

Just as we no longer need line of forts protecting us from Indians along the frontier of the Louisiana Purchase Territory, we no longer need Air Force bases in Maine guarding against Russian bombers.

[ProudVet77]

Not totally familiar with all the missions the P-3 does, and I doubt a UAV can do a MAD (I was an ASW type). Here's a couple links to show you what they are looking at. My guess is they keep the P-3s going and suppliment them with UAVs.
http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_awst_story.jsp?id=news/09204top.xml
http://www.deagel.com/pandora/?p=pm00092004
http://www.uav.com/products/predator_b_er.html
The military is getting into UAVs in a big way, the USAF just bought 144 Predator-Bs enough in addition to their current inventory to give them 15 full squadrons.
Also I gather there are very few pilots going through Pensacola, and the AF version of it.

[ops33]

Hanscomb doesn't have an active flightline.

[ops33]

My earlier post was incorrect, I stand corrected another post.