Base officials meet with City of Valparaiso

  • Published
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Base officials met with City of Valparaiso representatives and their attorneys Oct. 7 to discuss strategy on the base's response to the city's request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. 

According to Maj. Gen. David Eidsaune, Air Armament Center Commander, "In our efforts to ensure we are providing the City of Valparaiso the information requested as expeditiously as possible, we felt it would be in everyone's best interest to sit down and discuss the particular specifics of the Freedom of Information Act request. 

"Successful execution of the BRAC bed down at Eglin, including careful and thorough consideration of community concerns, is my highest priority. I've also asked Colonel Bruce McClintock, 96th Air Base Wing Commander, and Colonel Arnold Bunch, AAC Vice Commander, to give this their full attention."

According to base officials, Colonels McClintock and Bunch personally met with Mayor Arnold Oct. 2, which helped facilitate this meeting. 

"The FOIA request is actively being worked by the Eglin staff. The FOIA request, as submitted, encompasses an extensive amount of information which requires a great deal of research," Colonel Bunch said.

Colonel McClintock stressed "We have continuously communicated with the Mayors and other City officials on this process and would like to continue to work with them to make implementation of the BRAC decision a win-win for Eglin and the surrounding community. In the near term, we hope to focus the FOIA request in order to provide appropriate documentation and also provide the documents in a more timely, cost-efficient manner.

"We will continue engagement with officials from all the surrounding communities to answer any questions," added Colonel McClintock. 

A summary highlighting outreach efforts, initial response to the FOIA, and current status is being made available. For additional information, contact Ms. Marie Vanover, Eglin Public Affairs, 882-3649.