Published: April 08, 2009 01:34 pm      

Dorman says losing cannon a blow

Staff and wire reports



Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended cutting a mobile cannon that was to be partially assembled in Elgin but Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, will continue to work with leaders to find a replacement program for the are.

The high-tech cannon, which had been pushed by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., was essentially a self-propelled howitzer with a two-man crew and a firing range of more than 18 miles.

A production facility for the new artillery system opened last year in Elgin on the outskirts of Fort Sill. The facility was for construction of initial components for the Non-Line-of-Sight, or NLOS, cannon vehicles.

A separate facility was planned at Elgin's Fort Sill Industrial Park to be used as the final assembly point for the vehicles. An estimated 100 people were expected to be employed in Elgin to work on the cannon.

Gates announced cuts in a number of weapon systems at a briefing Monday in Arlington, Va.

Dorman said Gates' announcement was a blow to local and state leaders who worked hard on the project.

"Many local and state leaders worked with our federal counterparts to secure the land and get this program started," he said. "I myself worked with several local individuals over 13 months to get the School Land Commission to allow this land to be sold for this plant."

But Gates said the cannons "do not reflect the lessons of counterinsurgency and close quarters combat in Iraq and Afghanistan" and do not mesh with mine resistant vehicles that have been used in those countries.

Inhofe, in a statement from Afghanistan, called the cuts "unbelievable" and "unconscionable."

"Never before has the president so ravaged the military at a time of war," the senator said. He vowed to fight the reductions, which come at a time President Obama has announced plans to increase troop strength in Afghanistan.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., whose district includes Fort Sill and Elgin, said he was not surprised by the cuts. He said Obama "cannot charm" the country's enemies out of their opposition to this country.

"The cuts announced today, however, take that naivete to a dangerous new level. I intend to do everything I can to make sure they do not actually occur."

Meanwhile, Dorman said he would work with Inhofe, Cole and others to "make sure a replacement program" is located in Elgin.

”Oklahoma has a long and proud history of defending our country and we currently have the second highest military recruitment in the nation per capita. We understand the sacrifice our local men and women make for their country here in our great state and these soldiers need the most up-to-date technology so they can best protect freedom, democracy and our nation,” Dorman said.