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Messick Veteran's Day Celebration 2013 - Picture 186
Memphis Air National Guard will unveil new base
MEMPHIS -- One of the largest Air
National Guard projects in history is set for a Grand Opening in Memphis this
Saturday, September 6, with ceremonies beginning promptly at 11 a.m. The huge
new facility is located near the southeast corner of Memphis International Airport
on 4607 Galaxy Drive.
The Tennessee Air National
Guard’s 164th Airlift Wing, currently located at the north end of
the airport, will be re-locating to this much larger, more modern,
state-of-the-art facility in the coming weeks.
Dignitaries scheduled to attend include:
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen;
members of Tennessee’s Congressional delegation;
General Norton A. Schwartz,
Chief of Staff, United States Air Force;
Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley,
Director of the Air National Guard;
Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett,
Tennessee’s Adjutant General;
local and state officials and
members of the Memphis International Airport Authority.
The new base will enhance the Memphis Air Guard's mission change made in 2004 which replaced the
168foot long, 40-foot tall, 160-foot wingspan, C-141 Starlifter,
with the
250-foot long, 65-foot
tall, 222-foot wingspan, intercontinental transport Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
aircraft.
Designed specially to house the C-5, the largest plane in the Air Force fleet, the new
118-acre facility is staggering in size and scope.
Twenty-eight acres of 14-inch thick pavement will be used to park the behemoths.
Three massive hangars for the Galaxy encompass
320,000 square feet, more than half of the sixbuilding area for the entire
base.
The $245 million project, begun
in June 2006, is a collaboration involving the Department of Defense, Tennessee
Air National Guard, Federal Express and the Memphis-Shelby County Airport
Authority. At the peak of construction, the project required four general
contractors and approximately 800 workers.
Media
Contacts: Lt. Col. Lamar Spencer, 901-291-7478; email, lamar.spencer@tnmemp.ang.af.mil;
or Maj. Kris Jones, 901-291-7158; email, kris.jones@tnmemp.ang.af.mil.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Credentialed media should arrive NLT 9:00
a.m. the day of the ceremony. In the event of inclement weather the ceremonies
will be held indoors. Additional lighting may be required.
☆ Time for us to Jam!
