A statewide committee that’s been looking at military base realignment during the past year has made some recommendations.
The task force wants to work to make sure military bases in Ohio don’t end up on the chopping block when and if the federal government decides to downsize in the future. Retired Wright Patterson Air Force Base commander Col. Cassie Barlow says the group came up with two recommendations.
“To create a state level office of government and military affairs, independently reporting to the Governor’s office. And second, to create a funding line in the state budget to support this office in their work," Barlow says.
Barlow says other states have an office like this and find it helpful in keeping bases open. Military bases in Ohio have a collective payroll of more than $5 billion and provide more than 60,000 federal jobs.