Westover to receive $42 million for funding of new hangar

Feb. 6, 2019 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal is seen with Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos at the announcement of $42.6 million in federal funds to build a new hangar at Westover ARB.
Reminder Publishing photo by G. Michael Dobbs

WESTOVER ARB – Westover Air Reserve Base will receive a federal allocation of $42.6 million for the construction of a new hangar at the nation’s largest air reserve base.

The new hangar, the size of two football fields, will be large enough to accommodate the C-5Ms, according to Col. David Post who is the maintenance group commander for the 439th Airlift Wing. Post explained that all 55 C-5M Super Galaxy cargo planes – the entire Air Force fleet – come to Westover for maintenance.

The base currently does not have enough adequate hangars to house the giant aircraft and Post said the new hangar would allow his command of 600 to do the work faster.

Post called the routine work to keep the planes in the air as “very labor intensive.” While he spoke two C-5Ms were on the runway in the process of being serviced.

Congressman Richard Neal joined Brig. Gen. D. Scott Durham, commander 439th Airlift Wing and Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos in making the announcement at a press conference on Jan. 31, which was made in one of the base’s original hangars built 70 years ago.

Post said the bids for the construction of the new hangar should be released at the end of this year with work starting in 2020. He said the hangar should take two years to be constructed. It will be located where an avionics building now stands.

Neal called Westover “a very important component of American national defense,” while Kos called the allocation of funding “almost an 80th birthday present” for the base founded in 1939.

Kos added the $43.6 million is a “substantial investment.”

Neal described Westover as “integrated” with both military and commercial sides that act as economic engines to the region.

He explained the funding was part of the National Defense Bill, which was passed months ago and Neal said he didn’t think it was a good idea to “explain why we were doing this and not doing other things” referring to the conflict between Congress and the Trump Administration and the recent government shutdown.

He said that he had worked “a long time” to achieve this allocation. There was $84 million in the legislation of which Westover received half of that amount.

Neal believes there will be a deal struck in this three-week shutdown “interlude.” He noted the current congressional atmosphere is far different than when he entered the House, when there was a greater emphasis on negotiation to reach compromise.

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