GTRA exec: Step up Columbus

Golden Triangle Regional Airport Executive Director Mike Hainsey told Columbus, Miss., Rotarians on Tuesday that the community needs to “step up” its partnership efforts with Columbus Air Force Base in preparation for a new potential round of base closures in 2017. Community partnerships with CAFB would show the base’s vitality to the area and prevent the base from being placed on a list of proposed closures. As an example, he said that Air Force training pilots used GTRA runways during repairs to its major runway. Part of it is financial, Hainsey said, but also extends to national security and patriotism. Source: Columbus Dispatch, 03/19/14. (Central Mississippi note: NAS Meridian has been a frequent member on several Base Realignment and Closure Commissions’ lists.)