Cannon's future 'bright'

The Air Force remains committed to Cannon Air Force Base and "the future is bright," Clovis Mayor Mike Morris said Friday.

Morris and other local officials held a press conference at the Clovis-Carver Public Library to address community concerns after officials announced last week that 350 Cannon personnel and seven MC-130J aircraft will be relocating to Arizona in 2027.

"It can make our hearts skip a beat," Morris said, anytime there are reports of a reduction in force at the base west of Clovis.

But the 5% reduction in personnel should not concern area residents who banded together in 2005 to help save Cannon after plans were announced to close the facility during a series of national base realignments and closures.

"It does not mean BRAC," Morris said. "It does not mean anything close to that."

Area officials revealed that an email from the office of the U.S. Secretary of the Air Force sent Thursday stated the Air Force "is committed to the future of Cannon Air Force Base."

The email stated further, "Opportunity exists for it (Cannon) to see growth or an additional mission placement before one of its MC-130Js squadrons is slated to relocate in 2027."

The Air Force on Wednesday officially announced that Cannon personnel and the armed cargo planes would be transferred over the next several years to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.

With aircraft and personnel transferred from Hurlburt Field AFB in Florida and Nellis AFB at Las Vegas, Nev., the Cannon aircraft and crews are scheduled to become part of a new Special Operations Wing to be established at the Tucson base -- the 492nd Power Projection Wing.

The Power Projection Wing would be part of the Special Operations Command, which includes Cannon's 27th SOW.

Capt. Jackie Pienkowski, chief of public affairs for the 27th SOW, said another full squadron of MC 130J aircraft will remain on base even after the departure of the Sixth Special Operations Squadron to Davis-Monthan.

Sid Strebeck is president of the Committee of Fifty, a Cannon support group. He said at Friday's press conference that Cannon has tripled in population since it was threatened with closure. He said Cannon has grown by 15% in the past two years, further evidence of the Air Force's commitment to the Clovis-Portales area.

Morris said he and other local officials had been aware that "something was going on" with Cannon for months before the personnel and aircraft transfer occurred. But he said no details emerged until a week before the Air Force's official announcement of transfers and creation of the Power Projection unit at Davis-Monthan.

State Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, said the New Mexico congressional delegation was first notified of the move on July 28, after the Air Force announced it was standing up the Power Projection wing at Davis-Monthan.

He said New Mexico's congressional delegation held high level meetings with senior Air Force officials, including Air Force Special Operations Commander Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind and Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.

Heinrich said the delegation received a commitment from Kendall that the Air Force "will continue to invest in Cannon, which remains vital to the current and future needs of the Air Force."