U.S. Senator Katie Britt has delivered a big win for her native Wiregrass. After her intervention, money was not diverted from Fort Novosel, the U.S. Army base in Southeast Alabama formerly known as Fort Rucker.
A rash of social media rumors emerged last week claiming that the Biden Administration’s Department of Defense was pulling $130 million from a flight simulation training program conducted at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE) at Fort Novosel. The social media posts claimed the training program would be halted as soon as May 1, which was last Wednesday.
Amid the speculation, Sen. Britt’s team immediately engaged senior military officials to get to the bottom of the rumors and advocate for Fort Novosel.
“Our office is aware of social media posts that are circulating claims regarding U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence flight training programs at Fort Novosel,” Britt (R-Montgomery) said in a statement last week.”
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“We are in touch with senior military officials and received the following comment: ‘At this time no decision has been made and no dollars have been diverted.’ In the recently passed FY24 Defense Appropriations bill, I helped secure $1.38 billion for flight training at Fort Novosel, and I’ll continue to fight for every cent of that money to be spent as congressionally intended.”
Since then, the situation has become less murky due to Sen. Britt’s continued persistence on the issue.
Last Friday, the day after Sen. Britt’s original statement, the Army confirmed to Alabama’s congressional delegation that no money had been taken from Fort Novosel.
No training programs have been disrupted or halted at Fort Novosel, either.
And the best news is this – sources confirm to Yellowhammer News that the Pentagon does not have any existing plans to divert a cent from USAACE.
Now that the FY25 appropriations process is starting to pick up steam, Sen. Britt told Yellowhammer News that she remains committed to ensuring Alabama has the best possible seat at the table.
“I’m proud to support Alabama’s incredible military installations and communities. Our state is truly crucial to our national defense and homeland security, with the exemplary work being done across Alabama ensuring our servicemembers are the best trained, equipped, and resourced in the world,” said Sen. Britt. “I will always fight for every taxpayer dollar appropriated by Congress to be used responsibly, transparently, and accountably.”
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
