WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friday, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the Senate-passed FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes $8 million authorization to build a small arms range at the Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base. This project was previously authorized in 2018, but awaits funding, which Brown requested as Congressionally Directed Spending earlier this year.
“When our Guardsmen meet to train, and to prepare for new missions, it’s our responsibility to ensure they have the most state-of-the-art facilities possible. This key investment will ensure they have the space to train for and meet our national security needs,” said Brown.
Brown has been a strong advocate for Rickenbacker in Columbus:In 2020, Brown announced that he had secured a $15 million authorization in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report for military construction to support a new Army Guard Readiness Center.
In 2018, he secured a $8 million funding authorization to construct a small arms range at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus.
In 2016, Brown and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) helped secure a decision by the U.S. Air Force to bring a KC-135 air refueling tanker flight simulator to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus. The entire Ohio delegation – both senators and all 15 House members – sent a bipartisan letter on behalf of the Ohio Air National Guard urging General Carlton Everhart of the Air Mobility Command to locate a KC-135 air refueling tanker flight simulator at Rickenbacker.
In 2013, Brown pressed then-Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James on the importance of expanding the mission at Rickenbacker. Brown also sent a letter to General Dennis McCarthy, then-chair of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force encouraging the commission to use Ohio as a model for the rest of nation.
