{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-duckworth-budzinski-call-for-replacement-mission-for-183rd-wing-in-springfield-following-announcement-of-planned-deactivation-of-the-wings-repair-facility", "Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski Call For Replacement Mission For 183rd Wing In Springfield Following Announcement Of Planned Deactivation Of The Wing\u2019s Repair Facility", "2026-09-09", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "IL", "Richard J. Durbin", "D000563", "www.durbin.senate.gov", "durbin", "https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "In July, the Air Force announced that the 183rd Wing\u2019s Central Repair Facility mission would be deactivated in 2027\n\nSPRINGFIELD \u2013 U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and the National Guard Bureau Director General Steven Nordhaus urging the leaders to establish a new Air Operations Group at the 183rd Wing in Springfield, Illinois, following the July announcement that the 183rd Wing\u2019s Central Repair Facility (CRF) would be deactivated in the spring of 2027.\n\n\u201cWe write regarding the troubling decision to deactivate the Central Repair Facility (CRF) mission at the 183rd Wing in Springfield, Illinois, without a suitable replacement mission. For nearly two decades, the dedicated personnel on the CRF mission have ensured our nation\u2019s air fleet remains safe, ready, and mission capable. We urge you to consider establishing a new Air Operations Group at the 183rd Wing that would leverage the Wing\u2019s expertise and secure the unit\u2019s future while strengthening Joint Force readiness and our national defense,\u201d the lawmakers began their letter.\n\nAs the lawmakers noted in their letter, the 183rd Wing has been nationally recognized with the Air National Guard Maintenance Effectiveness Award for its outstanding work, and the U.S. military has relied on the 183rd Wing for fighter jet engine repair since 2012. Shuttering the 183rd Wing\u2019s CRF mission without a suitable mission replacement would risk the sustainment of the U.S. military\u2019s fighter fleet while also dismissing the highly skilled work of the 115 personnel dedicated to fighter maintenance.\n\n\u201cSince 2012, the 183rd Wing has capably provided fighter jet engine maintenance for U.S. Armed Forces aircraft, including the U-2, F-16, A-10, and F-15EX. The CRF remains the only mission of its kind within the Joint Force and is the single dedicated repair facility for the F-15EX aircraft fleet,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cWhile the Joint Force\u2019s engine repair demands have evolved, we are concerned a hasty deactivation of the CRF mission could risk adequate sustainment of our fighter fleet\u2014and leave more than 115 personnel without an appropriate mission.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers urged Secretary Meink and General Nordhaus to delay the deactivation of the 183rd Wing\u2019s CRF until September 2027, allowing adequate time for the impacted airmen and women to be retrained for a new replacement mission or to retire if eligible.\n\n\u201cAs such, we ask you to delay deactivation of the CRF until at least September 30, 2027. A deferred timeline would mitigate the impact on the lives of our Illinois Airmen and women and their families, allowing them to seek retraining or reassignment\u2014or even retirement for those eligible\u2014while awaiting a suitable replacement mission,\u201d the lawmakers continued their letter.\n\nThe lawmakers then suggested that a second Air Operations Group (AOG) be established at the 183rd Wing to leverage the wing\u2019s legacy of success in providing planning, command and control, and execution support for air operations for the Air Force and Joint Force worldwide.\n\n\u201cIn addition, we request that you swiftly consider establishing a second Air Operations Group (AOG) at the 183rd Wing\u2026Establishing a new AOG in Illinois would leverage the skills of our National Guard Airmen and women and the 183rd\u2019s excellent facilities, including its classified operations space; a Joint Cyber Range; and the brand new, 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Base Civil Engineer Complex,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.\n\nThe lawmakers concluded their letter by urging the military leaders to work alongside them to establish a new mission at the 183rd Wing that matches the caliber of the airmen and women\u2019s expertise.\n\n\u201cWe look forward to working with you on a path forward that will continue the 183rd Wing\u2019s legacy of service to our nation,\u201d the lawmakers concluded their letter.\n\nFollowing the announcement that the CRF mission at the 183rd Wing would be deactivated, Durbin, Duckworth, and Budzinski spoke with Illinois Adjutant General Major General Rodney Boyd about the National Guard\u2019s plan to deactivate the wing\u2019s mission. During their call, the lawmakers advocated for a suitable replacement mission.\n\nFull text of today\u2019s letter is available here and below:\n\nSeptember 9, 2026\n\nDear Secretary Meink and General Nordhaus:\n\nWe write regarding the troubling decision to deactivate the Central Repair Facility (CRF) mission at the 183rd Wing in Springfield, Illinois, without a suitable replacement mission. For nearly two decades, the dedicated personnel on the CRF mission have ensured our nation\u2019s air fleet remains safe, ready, and mission capable. We urge you to consider establishing a new Air Operations Group at the 183rd Wing that would leverage the Wing\u2019s expertise and secure the unit\u2019s future while strengthening Joint Force readiness and our national defense.\n\nSince 2012, the 183rd Wing has capably provided fighter jet engine maintenance for U.S. Armed Forces aircraft, including the U-2, F-16, A-10, and F-15EX. The CRF remains the only mission of its kind within the Joint Force and is the single dedicated repair facility for the F-15EX aircraft fleet. In 2020, the 183rd Maintenance Squadron was the recipient of the Air National Guard Maintenance Effectiveness Award, and the Wing is recognized for exploring unique innovations such as additive and advanced manufacturing to build and repair engine components. While the Joint Force\u2019s engine repair demands have evolved, we are concerned a hasty deactivation of the CRF mission could risk adequate sustainment of our fighter fleet\u2014and leave more than 115 personnel without an appropriate mission. As such, we ask you to delay deactivation of the CRF until at least September 30, 2027. A deferred timeline would mitigate the impact on the lives of our Illinois Airmen and women and their families, allowing them to seek retraining or reassignment\u2014or even retirement for those eligible\u2014while awaiting a suitable replacement mission.\n\nIn addition, we request that you swiftly consider establishing a second Air Operations Group (AOG) at the 183rd Wing. A second AOG would build off of the 183rd Wing\u2019s current success in providing planning, command and control, and execution support for air operations for the Air Force and the Joint Force worldwide. As the Air Force strives to maintain strategic dominance in an increasingly contested security environment, a highly capable, deployable AOG would serve as the backbone to tactical direction, synchronization, and mission execution. We understand the Air Force supports establishing more AOGs for missions in the Pacific and the global strike mission, and we urge you to urgently fund the standup of at least one AOG, to start on October 1, 2027. Establishing a new AOG in Illinois would leverage the skills of our National Guard Airmen and women and the 183rd\u2019s excellent facilities, including its classified operations space; a Joint Cyber Range; and the brand new, 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Base Civil Engineer Complex. While we appreciate the National Guard Bureau plans to complete funding in 2028 for an Air Mobility Operations Squadron and Contingency Response Group in Illinois, these two missions were previously planned efforts in other parts of the State and will not be sufficient to safeguard the specialized workforce of the 183rd.\n\nWe look forward to working with you on a path forward that will continue the 183rd Wing\u2019s legacy of service to our nation. Thank you for your attention to this important issue.\n\nSincerely,\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-09-12T09:02:30Z", "2026-09-12T09:03:27Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-duckworth-budzinski-call-for-replacement-mission-for-183rd-wing-in-springfield-following-announcement-of-planned-deactivation-of-the-wings-repair-facility"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6068010590970516, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}