BANGOR (AP) – The base closure commission has given the green light for the Maine Air National Guard base in Bangor to get a newer fleet of KC-135 refueling tankers from bases in two other states.

But details of the transfer and its impact on personnel levels at the 101st Air Refueling Wing were not immediately clear.

Under the plan approved Friday night by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, Bangor stands to gain eight planes from an Air Guard base in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and two planes from a base in either Alabama or Mississippi, Lance Boucher, an aide to Gov. John Baldacci, said Saturday.

The original Defense Department proposal projected a gain of 240 military and civilian jobs at Bangor, but that figure appears to be in doubt, Boucher said.

The base currently employs at least 250 full-time military personnel.

The base is currently staffed to support 10 aircraft, he said, and since the eight older model KC-135s now stationed there are slated to be retired, it was uncertain whether any additional personnel would be assigned to Bangor.

Even without any job gains, the BRAC decision is good news for the Air Guard base, Boucher said.

“We are very glad that the 101st will maintain its level of personnel, and having a newer model of aircraft is obviously a plus for the base,” he said.

In its recommendation to the BRAC commission, the Pentagon praised the unit for its role in the Northeast Tanker Task Force that has provided support to the “air bridge” to Europe and the Middle East.

The commission also voted Friday night to keep open the Naval Reserve Center in Bangor, a decision that maintains seven jobs.

The Defense Department originally recommended closing the center and relocating it to the Brunswick Naval Air Station.

But after BRAC voted Wednesday to close the Brunswick base, the Bangor station had nowhere to go.

The Brunswick vote, the commission’s biggest blow to Maine, was offset by votes to defy the Pentagon and retain the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service office in Limestone, which stands to add jobs under the BRAC decision.

The commission’s recommendations face approval by President Bush and Congress, which can accept or reject them in their entirety. If approved, the changes would occur over the next six years.

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