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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Pentagon of improperly trying to shut down a state National Guard unit by pulling its planes when its home base closes.
The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court said the lawsuit by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has become moot. The ruling said the final 2005 federal base-closing list, which included Willow Grove Naval Air Station, deleted most references to the base's 111th Fighter Wing.
Under the base-realignment plan, the Pentagon will pull the A-10 aircraft assigned to the guard unit in 2010, and will have the Navy leave the site the following year. The Pentagon had recommended that the unit, with its more than 1,000 jobs, be deactivated and that its aircraft either be retired or relocated to other Air National Guard bases.
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