The Columbus Dispatch:
WASHINGTON — If Ohio’s congressional delegation has its way, one of the nation’s first lines of defense against incoming ballistic missiles will be an Army National Guard base in a northeastern Ohio city of 11,533 people.
Ohio’s delegation is in the midst of what one congressman calls a “full-court press” to land a missile-defense site for a military center near Ravenna, one of three finalists. Such an “East Coast” site would, along with bases in California and Alaska, be capable of fending off long- and intermediate-range missiles, presumably launched from Iran or North Korea.
Last week, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to pick Ravenna, which is in Portage County east of Kent. After meetings, letters and lobbying, Ravenna’s advocates could be just weeks from getting their answer. Last week, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that the secretary of defense and the president are expected to decide on the Ballistic Missile Defense Review, which could be released in early March.
