Senator Brown tours Mansfield facilities Published Oct. 28, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Jessica Q. Hill 179th Airlift Wing Public Affairs MANSFIELD, Ohio -- -- Senator Sherrod Brown and his aides stopped by his hometown of Mansfield at the 179th Airlift Wing on Wednesday, Oct. 26, to see the new C-27J aircrafts and to tour the newly built Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers and Mansfield Armed Forces Reserve Center buildings on Airport Road North. During the visit, Brown met with trained C-27J pilots and talked at length with members of the 164th Airlift Squadron about the new airframe. He noted that housing more planes on fewer bases makes good financial sense especially from a maintenance aspect. "Mansfield has proven that more planes here makes sense. This base serves people who live not just in Mansfield, but for miles around. The base injects life and money into the local economy," he said. When Brown's schedule did not allow him to make the formal ribbon cutting for the new buildings, he said he wanted to stop at the 179th AW to show his support for the men and women who have worked so hard to build up the base since the recent Base Realignment and Closure Committee. "This growth and ribbon cutting sends the message that we should not be afraid of BRAC," he encouraged Guard members. "There are dedicated professionals here. There is also great growth potential. We know what they have done." Col. Michael Howard, 179th AW Vice Wing Commander, told the senator that the expansion of RED HORSE and the Army on and around the 179th AW has been the result of good collaboration amongst the Army, Air National Guard and the surround area. "There has been a lot of cooperation between the city and the Guard," Howard noted. Also during the senator's visit, he spoke with Lt. Col. Daniel Tack, commander of the 200th RED HORSE Squadron Detachment 1, which is located in Mansfield. While touring MAFRC Brown also met with Col. John Harris, Assistant Adjutant General for Army, Joint Force Headquarters-Ohio. The formal ribbon cutting for the RED HORSE and MAFRC buildings is slated for today, Friday, Oct. 28, at 1300 at the facility site on Airport Road North.