Ashley Moody, Rick Scott, Jimmy Patronis want Pentagon to reconsider moving forces from Hurlburt Field

Could the Defense Department revisit a decision to relocate troops away from Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County?

U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott sent a letter along with U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink to review a decision made while Democrat Joe Biden was in the White House.

The 2022 National Defense Strategy calls for moving the 492nd Special Operations Wing to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The letter both questions what went into the 2022 National Defense Strategy and pointed to new geopolitical conditions that warrant reconsidering the choice.

“Given the Trump Administration’s increasing focus on Venezuela and the Caribbean, approximately doubling the response time for these Special Operations Forces (SOF) assets and geographically isolating them from U.S. Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, and the other East Coast-based, SOF units seems contradictory to national security,” the letter reads.

The U.S. with its Southern Spear operation has increasingly engaged with Venezuelan ships, alleging the vessels are trafficking drugs into the U.S.

While the Trump administration in September announced the relocation of the Air Force wing from Hurlburt Field, that was based on a Biden administration review of conditions years ago. The reason for the move was to “build resilience in the face of destabilizing and potentially catastrophic transboundary challenges such as climate change.”

But Moody, Scott and Patronis, all Republicans, say the rising tensions with Venezuela should trump those decisions.

The three ask for more rationale behind the strategic shift and for what other options were considered at the time. They also ask for a financial review of what the relocation would cost.

But they also argue simply that the Florida Panhandle is an optimal operating ground for the Air Force organization.

“It is our job to represent our constituents, and we will always question decisions removing servicemen and women from Florida, the country’s most military friendly state,” the letter reads. “Each of us, along with our constituents, has been left without a clear rationale on how this decision was made or how it would serve the military’s mission.”