Army Aviation Support facility to open

[unhappycamper]

Army Aviation Support facility to open
By Dennis Seid - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 10, 2008 7:22:05 EST

TUPELO, Miss. — In two years, a bigger, better Army Aviation Support Facility will be opened near the Tupelo Regional Airport, and with it comes greater economic opportunity.

The new facility, officially dubbed AASF No. 2 because it is one of three statewide, will be more than three times larger than its current facility.

And the operations itself are an economic engine. The $29.1 million project will house more aircraft, and the extra room was needed for staff that has been added over the years.

“We’ve already grown from roughly 35-40 employees a few years ago to now having 70 full-time employees,” said Maj. Walter Jordan, the commander of the AASF.

The current facility was built in the 1970s and has been renovated and expanded over the years. As its mission has evolved the Tupelo AASF helps train U.S. Army personnel and maintains helicopters for several National Guard units it became apparent that building a brand new facility was in the long run cheaper than adding on to an aging one.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_armyaviationsupport_111008/%2e