Western Pennsylvania would lose two military facilities and a third would be downsized under a base reduction plan unveiled today by the Defense Department.

		Related AP coverage Base closing updates from AP List of proposed base closings Interactive base closing map

The Air Force's 911th Tactical Airlift Group base near Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon and operations at the Army's Chares E. Kelly Support Facility in Collier are proposed for closing.

The closings will not become official until a review is completed and Congress votes.

The 911th closing would eliminate 44 military jobs and 278 civilian jobs. The Kelly facility closing would eliminate 174 military jobs and 136 civilian jobs.

The base closing commission is also recommending realignment of the Army's 99th Regional Readiness Command in Moon. Although it would not be closed, the Reserve command would lose 119 military and 101 civilian jobs.

At a press conference this morning, U.S. Reps Tim Murphy and Melissa Hart expressed surprise and dismay at the depths of the local cuts and vowed to appeal to the commission during the review process this summer.

Final recommendations will not be made to President Bush until September, and Congress may not get the proposal until December, they said.

Murphy said the announcement was "not welcome news for a region already hit hard," including by massive US Airways layoffs. He said he "would try to show what I think is a mistake, not only for the military but for the region."

Hart said she was surprised by the closings, given the support local bases provided for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq elsewhere.

"This is not a final decision. This is simply a decision out of the Department of Defense," she said.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said the base closings were "a lot more than we anticipated," but the county and Allegheny County Airport Authority will continue to work with the base-closing commission to change the final decision.

"It's a big issue for us economically," Onorato said, stressing that in addition to jobs at the bases, the area would lose its only commissary where veterans can buy supplies.

The county and airport authority will stress that the airport site, in particular, has plenty of land available for expansion and other bases could be consolidated there.

Allen Kukovich, director of Gov. Ed Rendell's western regional office, also pointed out the state had a study performed by a consultant that showed the three local bases could be consolidated into one without losing any jobs or services. That information will be used to try to persuade the commission to change the recommendations, he said.

"I think we have a chance to preserve most of the jobs," he said.

One unit on the list of possible base closures includes the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron, 775 Detachment Alpha, out of Johnstown.

The unit, currently in the middle of its second deployment to Iraq since February 2004, provides combat air support to ground units, as well as airborne command and control, said Maj. Randy Parker, the acting site commander in Johnstown.

There are 86 full-time active-duty Marines at the base who would be relocated to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. In addition to the full-timers, there are 45 reservists in the unit. Most of them, according to Parker, are not from Western Pennsylvania. Those who are would have the option of staying with the squadron and traveling to New Jersey or transferring into a different Marine Reserve unit.

There would be no civilian jobs affected by the realignment, Parker said.

The unit is home to seven Cobra helicopters and four Huey helicopters, Parker said.

Staff writers Ed Blazina and Paula Reed Ward contributed to this story. More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.