Seventeen Ohio Congressmen penned a letter Wednesday in support of Ravenna's potential selection as host of a new Department of Defense missile defense site.

The site, part of the East Coast Missile Defense System, would be built at the Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center.

If chosen, Ravenna would house a classified number of interceptor missiles, weapons designed to protect the U.S. from foreign ballistic missile attacks.

Signers of the letter include Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, as well as Representatives Bill Johnson and Tim Ryan.

The delegation's pitch to Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Admiral James Syring highlighted both Ravenna's proximity to transportation networks in Youngstown and Akron and its lack of significant environmental or airspace-related concerns.

Both features, according to the letter, would make military and construction traffic easier.

The letter also notes that the site could help support approximately 2,300 jobs during construction and employ up to 850 people once up-and-running.

About the impact the site would have on the region, the letter said, "This represents a significant investment in a region of our state that is continuing to recover economically.”

Ravenna was initially picked as one of five finalist sites when the National Defense Authorization Act was passed by Congress in 2013.  The DoD has since whittled that number down to three.

The other potential sites are Fort Drum in New York and Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan.

Currently, there are two existing Missile Defense System locations in California and Alaska. 

The full letter can be read below:

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