Air National Guard
In 2004, recommendations were made to relocate the 129th Rescue Wing (129 RQW) of the California Air National Guard and its associated HC-130, MC-130 and HH-60 aircraft from Moffett Federal Airfield (formerly Naval Air Station Moffett Field) to the former Castle Air Force Base, now Castle Airport. Rationale for this move was the high cost of living in the Sunnyvale/Mountain View/San Francisco Bay Area for full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel assigned to the unit, and the travel time and non-reimbursed expenses cost for "traditional" part-time air national guardsmen serving in the unit, most of whom reside in the San Joaquin Valley region due to lower cost of living.
It was estimated that the cost to relocate the 129 RQW to Castle, to include associated military construction (MILCON) costs, could be recouped in seven (7) years. This would result in the reestablishment of an Air Force cantonment area at Castle that would be renamed either Castle Air National Guard Base or Castle Air National Guard Station. However, likely due to organizational restructuring currently occurring in the Air National Guard nation-wide and higher priority defense spending requirements for the U.S. Air Force, the National Guard Bureau and the Air National Guard since September 2001, this initiative has been placed on indefinite hold and the 129 RQW remains at Moffett.
Read more about this topic: Castle Airport
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