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2022/03/14 - Mayor's Column: Thank You Scott AFB

­“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
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It is amazing to me how easy it is for some of us to take Scott Air Force Base for granted. If you are not directly involved with the base, you may only think of the economic impact that it has on our immediate area. But it means so much more to all of us.  This is probably because many of the things they do or plan for are not things that you relate to the base and/ or the activities supervised by the base and its many commands.  It is the home to the United States Transportation Command, the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command and much more.

To us, it is a military facility that has been here for over 100 years and is the home to over 12,000 military and civilian employees.

But let’s just step back for a minute and look at what the personnel at the base have dealt with during just the last six months. And the worldwide implications Scott AFB has.

  1. At the end of August, the staff at Scott Air Force Base led the charge in planning, coordinating, and executing plans to help evacuate over 150,000 individuals from Afghanistan.
  2. Constant and continued action with restrictions and impact that COVID has had on the base and its ability to complete their mission.
  3. In October, they continually helped monitor and engaged in planning that has taken place due to China’s repeated and increased flyovers of Taiwan.
  4. The planning and actions to help our NATO allies and Ukraine due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

All I can say is that I’m very proud of our neighbors at Scott Air Force Base.  I’m proud of what they do to protect the freedoms that each of us enjoy in the United States.

On a separate note, on March 16th we will have my 18th Town Hall Meeting at City Hall at 6:30 PM. We will cover the New City 2040 Master Plan and the new ward map for the City’s seven wards.

This Town Hall will be open to the public and aired on Zoom. I hope to see you there in-person (or virtually)!

As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open.