Military veteran and U.S. Congressional hopeful Paul Chabot pledged to fight for and develop what he labled “Joint Military Base San Bernardino (JBSB)” where Norton Air Force Base once stood.
“For the future of our region, and defense of our Nation we must work together to make Joint Base San Bernardino a reality. This will be a top priority when elected to Congress. The world is more dangerous today. Our enemies have grown while our military has been reduced to dangerously low levels. We owe it to our children to ensure their generation has the resources necessary to defend themselves and live without fear.” said Chabot.
He continued, “The creation of JBSB is not only vital to the dynamic economic growth of the San Bernardino region of California, but is necessary to counter the growing threat in the Pacific from China, Russia and North Korea in order to better advance the Pentagon’s ‘pivot to the Pacific,’ while buffering U.S. efforts to better counter aggression from Iran, Russia and the proliferation of worldwide terrorism.”
After the Cold War, in 1994, Norton Air Force Base (AFB) in San Bernardino was closed under the Federal government’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program. This termination economically devastated the local region, especially the City of San Bernardino, which in 2011 filed for bankruptcy.
With the global rise of China and Russia militarily into the Pacific, it’s time now to build a state of the art base in San Bernardino – but not just any base – a Joint Base, that combines the forces of all branches of the military working together. Currently, the United States has just a handful of Joint Bases and none on the West Coast. We must also incorporate logistics utilizing the existing long-rang runways in the city (formerly Norton AFB), with easy access to major transportation highways in the region. JBSB can incorporate military intelligence, cyber-security and a Joint Special Operations Command Headquarters for the Pacific, while providing military training utilizing our unique proximity to the sea, deserts, mountains and valleys.
With an infusion of military, contractor and other private sector employers moving back into San Bernardino, we will see transformational change at a revolutionary level that will significantly decrease unemployment, increase wages, improve real-estate, decrease crime – and, bring pride back to our region. We can find work for our unemployed, including military veterans and college graduates. Poverty and the area’s high welfare rolls will plunge. Active duty, contractors and other civilian employees will spend their money in our region; businesses will flourish as Fortune 500 companies contract with JBSB, and much more.
San Bernardino was once one of America’s greatest cities, and in the 1980’s won the national distinction as such, but that is a distant memory. San Bernardino is now the poorest of its population size in California and the second poorest in America only behind Detroit. When Norton AFB closed, it devastated the region. The dreams of an international airport never fully evolved and although distribution centers now dot the area, the region has not achieved what was intended, and the consequences are clear. Timing is right for JBSB, said Chabot.
Learn more at: www.paulchabot.com/jbsb
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Paul Chabot is a Republican Candidate for U.S. Congress and current LT Commander, Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He served on Active Duty in Iraq in 2008 with Joint Special Operations Forces. Prior assignments included: Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon; Office of Naval Intelligence; Defense Intelligence Agency; Fleet Intelligence Training Center, Command Third Fleet HQ; Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command; Command Pacific Fleet Intelligence and Joint Special Operations Command.
During Chabot’s tour of duty, he served at Joint Base Balad – Iraq (among other locations), and has extensive knowledge of Joint Base operations and capabilities. Chabot holds a certificate in Joint Professional Military Education from the Naval War College with a doctorate degree in organizational leadership from George Washington University.