Flying Jennies Could Possibly Stay at Keesler Air Force Base

The national defense industry plays a vital role in south Mississippi, with millions of dollars in economic impact.

Congress passed a major federal spending bill that has the potential to keep thousands of dollars in south Mississippi. The National Defense Act of 2015 has passed Congress, allocating a billion dollars to build a new LPD ship at Ingalls Shipyard. Jim Blevins, Mayor of Pascagoula, says, “This is saving 1,000s of jobs and that’s a great Christmas present for us.”

According to Ingalls spokesperson, Bill Glenn, the shipyard’s LPD program has 900 suppliers throughout 41 states. The massive spending bill will go far beyond affecting Ingalls Shipyard in Jackson County. It will also affect Stennis Space Center in Hancock County and Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. Since 2013, there have been efforts to move ten C-130Js, also known as the Flying Jennies, away from the 403rd Wing at Keesler to another base out of state.

Under the act, before the planes can be transferred from Keesler, the Secretary of the Air Force must issue a cost analysis report. Col. Frank Amodeo, Commander of the 403rd Wing, says, “If I were guessing, I would say these airplanes were going to be here probably through the beginning of next year, maybe through March, and then we will have an idea when the transfers will start.”

In all, the transfer of the planes will affect more than 600 jobs. That’s about 30% of the man power for the 403rd Wing at Keesler. Amodeo closes, “Well, the economic for the 403rd Wing is 101 million dollars, so if indeed we are going to lose about 30% of our man power, there will be an impact to the economy.”

Keesler does annual economic impact studies, so the overall effects of losing the Jennies won’t be known for a year or two.