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So the powers that be, in their wisdom, have decided to close RAF Fairford’s lodging facility in the latest drawdown plans for the base.

This totally contradicts previous drawdowns, when the lodging facility was considered a vital Morale, Welfare and Recreation facility for U.S. service personnel traveling to the United Kingdom. It is well-known that Fairford is the primary lodging facility for active-duty military and retirees when visiting the U.K. on vacation.

Airmen and officers alike travel here to use the lodging as their “base” to do the “tourist thing” — London: one hour, 40 minutes away; Bath: 50 minutes; Oxford: 40 minutes; Windsor/Warwick castles: within one hour; Stonehenge and Wales: one hour, 20 minutes away; Lacock and Castle Combe (the prettiest villages in the country): one hour; Blenheim Palace (Winston Churchill’s ancestral home): 50 minutes; Legoland and Cadbury World, one hour.

They will still travel to these places, only now they will be putting not only their lives at risk, but also those of their families. The tourist thing will still happen. They will still travel 3.5 hours from RAFs Mildenhall/Lakenheath/Alconbury to visit these places. The difference now is that they will have to travel 3.5 hours back on the same day. It is well-known that American servicemembers will not pay the extortionate rates British hotels and bed and breakfasts charge. So what will they do? They will drive tired.

I think maybe the powers that be should review Fairford lodging.

What price do you put on your airmen’s heads in order to save a few thousand dollars? Fairford lodging could always be added to RAF Croughton’s inventory.

Feargal GlennonAssistant lodging managerRAF Fairford, United Kingdom

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