Assemblyman for Pass Blasts Plan to Consider Moving Cal Air Guard Fighters

The state assemblyman for the San Gorgonio Pass on Thursday blasted a Department of Defense plan to consider moving the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing out of the state.

Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, distributed an announcement headlined "Assemblyman Cook Assails Proposal by Obama Administration to Weaken California Air Defenses."

The 144th Fighter Wing includes two fighter jets based at March Air Reserve Base between Moreno Valley and Riverside, Cook's chief of staff, John Sobel, said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon.

The White House Press Office referred questions to the Department of Defense.

Cook authored Assembly Joint Resolution 31, calling on the federal government to keep the 144th Fighter Wing in California, and the resolution passed Thursday, Cook's staff said.

Relocating the 144th Fighter Wing out of California would cost California more than 1,000 jobs and it would significantly weaken national air defense capabilities on the West Coast, Cook said in his announcement.

"Stationed at several bases within California, the 144th responds immediately to any air defense threat with six fighter jets and has the ability to mobilize an additional 12 aircraft in less than six hours," Cook's staff said.

In the absence of the 144th, the U.S. military would be required to rely on Air National Guard units from Montana, South Dakota, and Oregon. Under this scenario, it would likely take 24 to 72 hours to mobilize additional aircraft, personnel, and equipment during an emergency in the Southwest region, according to Cook's staff.

"Keeping the 144th Fighter Wing in California is about saving jobs and maintaining adequate national defense levels," Cook said in a prepared statement. "Look, I have nothing against states like Montana, but why move our air defenses away from population centers and farther away from rogue nations overseas?

"Heaven forbid we have another terrorist attack on our soil, but I can guarantee you that terrorists aren't targeting heads of cattle on the plains of Montana," Cook said. "California is the appropriate home for the Air Wing.

"We must be prepared to defend our nation at a moment's notice. It's crucial that we send a message to the administration in Washington DC that California won't stand for any attempt to weaken our nation's defenses."

Cook, a retired Marine Corps colonel and Vietnam veteran, is termed out in the State Assembly. He announced in February in the newly-formed 8th District in November 2012.

The new 8th Congressional District contains the Pass-area community of Yucaipa, the Morongo Valley, the high desert of San Bernardino County, and stretches north to include Mono and Inyo counties.

A pdf copy of the 8th Congressional District is attached to this report.