Political Quotes

“Mr. President, when it comes to projecting America's power, I have said many times that North Carolina is the tip of the American spear. When our country calls, it is a safe bet that the first responders will be U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune or our paratroopers of the 18th Airborne stationed at Fort Bragg. The 18th Airborne is America's Global Response Force. When called, units of the 18th Airborne can be anywhere in the world within 48 hours. Because of this unique mission--unique to Fort Bragg and the 18th Airborne--Pope Army Airfield is the busiest tactical airfield in the Armed Forces. Unfortunately, Pope is also home of the shortest runway in the Army. If the 18th Airborne is put on alert, C-5 and C-17 aircraft are needed to launch the force, and they cannot depart fully fueled with a full load of paratroopers and equipment off of the airfield. The current Pope Army Airfield runway provides only 8,500 feet for takeoff; however, to take off, the C-17 needs a minimum of 10,500 feet and the C-5 requires 11,500 feet. The Air Force's air refueling fleet is already stressed. The C-17s and C-5s used to carry out the Global Response Force missions have to leave Pope Army Airfield with full equipment and paratroopers but only about 60 percent of their fuel capacity. This requires them to go either to Charleston, SC, or Gander, Newfoundland, to get refueled so they can continue their mission.…”