Rep. Sorensen visits Peoria Air Base

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)– 17th District State Representative Eric Sorensen toured the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria on Friday afternoon.

This comes after the Air Force announced in June that the Illinois Air National Guard’s TACP group and the Air Force band will be decommissioned from the base.

Representative Sorensen visited the facility to showcase his efforts to protect units at the base and support service members.

Sorensen said he’s trying to work across the aisle with State Representative Darin LaHood to ensure funding.

“I need to know what’s going on here, I need to see the banners on the wall there that show the excellence that is happening here so that we can make sure that we are investing in this facility to meet the demands as we go forward 10, 20, 30, 50 years,” said Sorensen.

The decommissioning of the units impacted 210 Airmen. Although National Guard leaders at the base say they are working towards giving them new missions.

Major General Richard R. Neely said, “Our goal here is to maintain those military members that work in this community and make sure they have new missions to go into, new missions that the Air Force needs that drive our national defense strategy.”

This year is the Illinois National Guard’s 300th anniversary.