Historical report, published from archived WKRG coverage.
As the Air Force tanker-contract dispute continued in 2008, a Mobile-based group launched an advertising campaign to support the Northrop Grumman/EADS proposal, according to an archived WKRG report.
Mobile firefighter Bryan Lee and several local partners formed the nonprofit Alabamians to Build American Tankers. Lee told WKRG the group wanted to counter claims that a Northrop/EADS win would cost American jobs and to educate Congress about concerns it had raised about Boeing’s past record.
The group planned radio advertising in the Washington, D.C., area as the renewed bidding process began. WKRG reported that Northrop Grumman and EADS had planned to assemble tankers at Brookley Field before Boeing’s protest led the Government Accountability Office to recommend a rebid.
The statements and allegations in this account are attributed to the group and its organizers. This historical report does not determine the accuracy of their claims or the contract’s later outcome.