$10.2 Million Earmarked for Replacing, Updating Facilities for the 177th Fighter Wing
(NORTHFIELD) — Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo on Monday lauded the inclusion of $10.2 million in the President’s proposed federal budget to improve and expand the inadequate and undersized facilities of the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard.
Mazzeo (D-Atlantic) sponsored legislation (AR-158) that recently passed the Assembly requesting the federal funding be allocated. He issued the following statement:
“The inclusion of this funding in the President’s budget is great news for the health and safety of the men and women in the New Jersey Air National Guard. The 177th Fighter Wing is crucial not just to the national security of our nation but to the economic security of Atlantic County and our region.
“The current facilities used by the 177th Fighter Wing are inadequate and in need of expansion and modernization. The proposed funding allocation would upgrade their facilities to be in compliance with OSHA and Air Force health regulations while at the same time making the 177th capable of acquiring a next generation fighter.
“I am pleased that the President has seen fit to include this upgrade in his budget. It now falls to Congress to see that the funding remains in the final version of the federal budget, and I will work with the National Guard to lobby members of Congress to see that it continues to be included.”
The 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard has been based at the Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township since 1958. They were actively involved in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and are one of the leading air defense stations on the East Coast.