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Show Rep. King Protests A. F, Consolidation The chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services Thursday promised Rep. David S. King that he would launch an immediate inquiry into an Air Force decisoin to consolidate its Ground Electronics Engineering Installation Agency offices. The decision, which would trim from eight to three the number num-ber of GEElA regional offices, would close the regional office at Clearfield. Mr. King asked a conference Thursday with Rep. Carl Vinson ! of Georgia, Armed Services Committee Com-mittee chairman, at whioh the Utah congresman strongly urged committee inquiry. The chairman called immediately immedia-tely for a full explanation for the Air Force on the decision. Mr. King stressed the importance impor-tance of immediate inquiry, as the Air Force proposes to complete com-plete the reorganization July 1. The Utahn said he questions whether the decision was in the best interests of national defense. He told Mr. Vinson, "We sincerely sin-cerely wonder whether this defense de-fense effort will be best served by the consolidation of these operations op-erations into the three offices. It seems reasonable that this vital function would be less vulnerable vulner-able to attack if its experts were scattered among eight regional offices." GEEIA, Mr. King said, represents repre-sents the "primary engineers" in the nation's air defense system. Its experts are responsible for both installation and maintenance mainten-ance of all the electronics sys: terns in air defense including communications and missiles, as well as conventional aircraft. He said he questions the wisdom wis-dom of "retrenchment" in this field, at a time when the missile and . air power program is expanding ex-panding rapidly and national survival has come to rest almost entirely upon air defense. '"He'said the verbal explanation which Air Force officials gave him for the decision was simply that "there were too many people peo-ple in the program." |