(The Center Square) – U.S. Senators Marin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, D-New Mexico, and Clovis Mayor Mike Morris are not happy that the Air Force decided to relocate seven MC-130J aircraft and around 300 to 350 service members, known as the 6th Special Operations Squadron. The Air Force will relocate Squadron from Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, in the upcoming fiscal year despite millions the lawmakers have secured for the base to support its operations.
“The importance of Cannon Air Force Base to Clovis, Curry County, and the State of New Mexico as a whole cannot be overstated. We are extremely disappointed in this decision by the Air Force’s leadership. And we are dedicated to preserving Cannon as a stronghold of Air Force Special Operations, ensuring its continued contributions to national security,” the lawmakers said in a press release from Heinrich’s office. “We will continue our work to secure both a commitment and a concrete plan from the Air Force to increase its investment in Cannon. And we will keep doing all that we can to deliver for the service members, civilians, and families of Cannon AFB and the surrounding community.”
The lawmakers have spoken directly to Air Force leadership in recent months to advocate against this relocation.
Several New Mexico lawmakers wrote to the Defense Health Agency in June to encourage better medical support at Cannon AFB; they also told the Agency to look for any barriers that prevent medical services hiring or contracting.
The Senate’s recently-passed National Defense Authorization Act includes $5 million for a new fire station at Cannon AFB, a provision secured by Senators Heinrich and Luján. The lawmakers also unsuccessfully introduced an amendment that would have barred any money from being used to relocate troops from Cannon AFB to Davis-Monthan.
According to the senators, “in December 2022, Senators Heinrich and Luján secured $12 million in funding for Cannon AFB … This included $8 million for the Munitions Storage Area and $4 million for the Security Forces Squad Operations Building at Cannon AFB. In December 2021, Senator Heinrich, then-Chairman of the Military Construction Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, secured $5 million in planning and design funding for a 192-bed dormitory at Cannon AFB.”
Cannon AFB has a positive impact on the local economy, according to the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Along with Melrose Air Force Range, it had an estimated direct, indirect, and induced effect of “6,413 jobs, over $400 million in wages and salaries, and $2 billion in total industrial output,” according to the release.
