Connecticut Guard's flying mission settles in with C-130s

EAST GRANBY, Conn. — The Connecticut National Guard has moved closer toward securing a flying mission centered on C-130 cargo planes for years into the future.

State and Guard officials held a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the opening of a new, federally funded, $14.3 maintenance facility for the aircraft stationed at the Bradley Air National Guard Base in East Granby.

It comes three weeks after the Guard welcomed home 130 airmen and four of the eight C-130s back from the Guard’s first large-scale deployment with the aircraft.

Maj. Gen. Thaddeus Martin says two more projects remain in the pipeline: a new air terminal and a new, more secure entrance.

Connecticut’s flying mission was put in limbo in 2005 when the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended stripping the Guard’s A-10 fighter planes.