Delegation makes pitch for new air tankers at Fairchild AFB
Washington’s entire congressional delegation has signed a letter asking the Air Force to select Spokane’s Fairchild Air Force Base as the home for new air tankers. The Spokane base is already home to aging KC-135 air tankers.
The letter was spearheaded by Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. They want the new KC-46A tankers to be built by Boeing to be based in Spokane.
They say Fairchild is well-positioned for the nation’s military needs, and is a popular posting within the Air Force.
The full text of the letter follows:
The Honorable Michael B. Donley
Secretary of the Air Force
1690 Air Force Pentagon
Washington, DC 20330
Dear Secretary Donley:
On behalf of the Washington State delegation, we would like to extend our appreciation for the service and sacrifice made by the men, women, and families of the United States Air Force. In honor of their effort and service, we applaud the recently released diligent, timely, and thorough strategic basing criteria for the KC-46A aerial refueling tanker - a set of criteria that is exceptionally important to this critical mission and Fairchild Air Force Base in our home state of Washington.
Fairchild Air Force Base has been a historic part of our nation’s aerial refueling effort and is well positioned to achieve global-level reach, especially to the emerging Asia-Pacific theater. The base is a strategic staging platform, supporting the rapid worldwide global mobility mission with access to a number of aerial refueling routes while minimizing transit fuel consumption. We believe the recently announced strategic basing criterion situates Fairchild Air Force Base in a very competitive position.
Currently, Fairchild is home to a classic association of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing with the Air National Guard 141st Air Refueling Wing. As we have previously illustrated, this association marries the best the active duty and reserve components have to offer, providing for world-class aerial refueling, airlift and aeromedical evacuation capabilities while fostering innovation and efficiency in operation. As you know, the Air Force also continues to recognize Fairchild Air Force Base’s assets and has invested over $400 million in base infrastructure over the last several decades.
To that end, Fairchild already possesses much of the needed capacity to accommodate the new KC-46A aerial refueling tanker as the Air Force has already improved the 14,000 foot runway, invested in a new, state-of-the-art fitness center, and last month broke ground on a new wing command headquarters that will better integrate active-duty Airmen and Air National Guardsmen. Furthermore, Fairchild Air Force Base provides an exceptional quality of life for its Airmen and the local community has embraced the base. It is a strongly desired duty station and is the second most requested Air Force assignment in the United States.
The Spokane community is an award winning, proud military community that embraces all military personnel, their families, and retirees and is worthy of hosting the KC-46A aerial refueling tankers.
We ask you to keep us briefed as the strategic basing process continues and look forward to working with you to base the new KC-46A tanker fleet at Fairchild Air Force Base.
Sincerely,
U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
U.S. Representative Rick Larsen
U.S. Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler
U.S. Representative Doc Hastings
U.S. Representative Norm Dicks
U.S. Representative Jim McDermott
U.S. Representative Dave Reichert
U.S. Representative Adam Smith
Cc: General Norton A. Schwartz, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
General Raymond E. Johns Jr., Commander of Air Mobility Command
General Craig R. McKinley, Chief of National Guard Bureau