Welcome to the airmen and B-1s from the Lone Star state

By the Journal Editorial Board | Saturday, September 22, 2007

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The arrival at Ellsworth Air Force Base of about 650 Dyess Air Force Base airmen this past week is good news.

While the main airway at their base in Abilene, Texas, is repaired over the next two months, the airmen will continue to keep up their training just as they would at Dyess.

It’s good news for us because once again, Ellsworth is allowed to demonstrate that it is a vital part of our national defense.

It was only a couple of summers ago that Rapid City — and, indeed, all of South Dakota — was embroiled in an epic struggle with the nation’s military leaders in an effort to keep Ellsworth Air Force Base open.

The Pentagon said it was obsolete and that the base’s entire  B-1B Lancer fleet would be more effectively maintained at a single base. That base was to be Dyess.

Most South Dakotans disagreed strongly with the Pentagon’s assessment.

In the heat of the fray, Dyess became the object of distrust and suspicion by many Ellsworth supporters?

How could it be better than our base? What about the lawsuits? What about it’s flight space? Did it really compare to the Powder River Basin?

Basically, we wanted to know: “What about us?”

In the end, Ellsworth was spared from the chopping block by the coordinated efforts of civic leaders, state officials, our Congressional delegation who were able to make the case  for Ellsworth. And the suspicions and fears about Dyess melted.

Now, as we continue to fight in one of the longest wars in U.S. history, it is more important than ever to recognize the value not only of the facilities that support the battle, but especially those brave souls who dedicate themselves to that battle.

We urge the community to make an extra effort to welcome our guests from Texas.

And as the airmen are trained to treat this visit as they would any other deployment — overseas or otherwise, we hope that this deployment will be among the best they’ve ever had.