County Commission Confident Despite Protest

By Jamie Burch

M30o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr County Commission Confident Despite Protest

Published: Mon, March 10, 2008 - 8:46 pm

Mobile County Commissioners remain confident the KC-45A tankers will be assembled in Mobile despite Boeing's plan to protest the Air Force's decision.

“There’s no question that the military decided the Northrop plane was superior in virtually every facet,” said Mobile County Commission President Stephen Nodine. “The bottom line is that our fighting men and women deserve the best and shouldn’t be compromised for politics which is what this protest is all about.”

Boeing plans to file it's formal protest Tuesday with the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The protest will automatically suspend the contract while the GAO investigates. Investigators will have 100 days to determine if the complaint is valid and, if so, to offer a remedy.

“We fully believe that when all is said and done, the KC-45 will be assembled here in Mobile,” said Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean.

Boeing supporters have complained the Air Force’s selection of Northrop Grumman/EADS will send jobs overseas. But Mobile County leaders say nothing could be further from the truth.
“The Northrop/EADS project will support 25,000 jobs all across the United States,” said Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood.

In fact, jobs will likely be in-sourced from Europe, as EADS has announced plans to build its commercial A-330 freighter in Mobile as well.

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