Tuesday, July 22, 2008 

(315)  798-5800

Picente: Oneida County Wins Competition
For AWACS Training Mission at Airport

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. today announced that in a major victory for the region, Oneida County has been selected as the Forward Training Site for the Air Force’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

“This is a great step forward for Oneida County as we continue to be a major part of the nation’s air defense system through this new training effort that will work in collaboration with the existing Eastern Air Defense sector operations at the airport,” Picente said. “There is a positive impact on many levels – on the reuse of Griffiss; on the economy as Air Force personnel stay here during their training and become customers of local businesses; and on the morale of a community that has always been a very patriotic community that has a long, proud history of service.”

Once the Oneida County Forward Training Site is fully operational, it will receive six to eight month rotations of 150+ Air Force men and women, and up to three E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft throughout late spring to early winter flying months.  AWACS will negotiate long term leases with the County for the use several buildings on the airport. Renovation will be at the Air Force’s expense. The AWACS mission will be based at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma .

He also noted that beginning July 27^th, a Validation Concept Deployment will take place that will bring AWACS planes to local skies and 175 various crew members into the region. AWACS has also invited Homeland Security and military units to participate and further develop Northeast Missions. “This opportunity is a perfect fit with the Homeland Security focus that is already an integral part of our region,” Picente said. “This is a first step, a beginning. I am hopeful we can grow this new opportunity into a significant presence in the region.”

Picente said that the selection was based on a very positive training session in March when an AWACS plane spent a week at Griffiss. “This was a partnership effort to bring this very coveted mission to Oneida County ,” Picente said, noting that Oneida County beat out three active Air Force bases that were considered for the project. “Interim Commissioner of Aviation Roger Sorrell was the first to spot this opportunity and go for it. All of our airport personnel, FAA and tower controllers, Empire Aero maintenance members, Mohawk Valley EDGE, the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce and the Eastern Air Defense Sector worked as a team to be ready on short notice. All responded wonderfully to every challenge, and convinced the Air Force that this was the place to be. I also want to thank Congressman Arcuri, for the capital investment dollars he has been able to secure for the airport.  "This is a great economic success story, with organizations and individuals working in partnership at the federal, state and local level to expand services and businesses at Griffiss and build the Mohawk Valley economy," said Arcuri who has announced over $5 million in federal funding for improvements at Griffiss airfield.  "Development like this can have a profound domino effect - helping to attract future investment from the Air Force as well as private business and other sectors of government. I will continue to work closely with County Executive Picente and local leaders to help Griffiss grow as an even stronger engine of economic growth."

The uncluttered airspace needed to conduct training, the long 11,820-foot runway at Griffiss which was constructed to handle mammoth B-52s during the Cold War, and the ground facilities that exist in Oneida County were all factors in the selection. The location of the Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) – formerly the Northeastern Air Defends Sector (NEADS) – at Griffiss was also a major factor because the Air Force wants to achieve greater collaboration between the air-based surveillance conducted by the AWACS jets and the ground-based surveillance conducted by EADS.

Chairman of the Board of Legislators Gerald Fiorini said, “This is good news not only for the City of Rome but also for all of Oneida County .  I am pleased that the excellent facilities we have at Griffiss were able to attract a program such as AWACS to our area.

Chairman of the Board of Legislators Airport Committee George Joseph said, “I’m very proud of everyone that was involved.  We have an outstanding facility and once the opportunity presented itself, the collaboration between all of the partners at the airport made this possible.”

"The arrival of the AWACS and its Crew is pure excitement and joy for all of us in Central New York ,” Sorrell said. “We have a ‘diamond in the rough’ and getting professional aviators back into the skies -- like the great men and women out of Tinker -- will add a value to the area like no other.  The men and women from Tinker are a proud team and always willing to work with us to ensure mission success,” Sorrell said.

Sorrell said that the region will begin seeing the impact of the AWACS mission over the next two months during the AWACS Validation Concept Deployment. Sorrell offered the following estimates of the impact of the two-month “trial run.”

Q                 AWACS will use an equivalent of 1103 vehicle rental days at an average of $50/day = $56,000

Q                 Chamber coordinating lodging: 4,037 room-night equivalents at the USAF rate of $70/night = $283,000

Q                 The planes will generate around $100,000 in revenue from fuel sales in their first two months of training 

Q                 Restaurants, etc will see a significant increase in patronage and revenue. Using a rough estimate of $100/day/airman, that equals $400,000

Q                The Rome Area Chamber of Commerce will work with the Oneida County Convention & Visitors Bureau for welcome packages for the visiting personnel and a BBQ or Sports Day in early August, and will establish a “Sponsor An Airman” program to ensure the younger troops have events to attend and local volunteers to guide them.