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Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

F-35 basing still up for grabs

Late last month, the Air Force released a list of 11 candidate installations to base the F-35. Robins Air Force Base was not among the candidates.

The announcement promises to launch an intense effort by local communities and their legislators in Washington to land the platform. Supporters of Luke Air Force Base in Arizona have launched a Web site, LukeForward.com, to advertise their efforts.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, responded to inclusion of Hill Air Force Base by calling the announcement “a great day for Utah.”

The other installations vying for the F-35 are: Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.; McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C.; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; as well as Air National Guard installations in Idaho, Arizona, Vermont and Florida.

There will likely be more than one winner of this battle. The Air Force will need to select bases for F-35 operations and training. Eglin Air Force Base in Florida has already been selected as the site for initial training for the F-35.

FINAL F-22 CONTRACT ISSUED

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $474 million contract on Oct. 29 to build four more F-22 Raptors, the final aircraft authorized by the Department of Defense budget. Late last month, President Obama signed the 2010 Defense Authorizations bill, capping the F-22 program at 187 aircraft.

FOX NFL SUNDAY to be broadcast FROM AFGHANISTAN

The Fox NFL pregame show is scheduled to be broadcast from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan this morning. The Fox six-member team will include Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long, former defensive end Michael Strahan, ex-coach Jimmy Johnson, moderator Curt Menefee and NFL insider Jay Glazer.

The show has originated from a military setting before, but never from an actual combat zone. In 2000, the crew broadcast from the deck of the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman.

RESERVE BAND TO PERFORM IN MIDSTATE

The U.S. Air Force Reserve Concert Band will perform two concerts in the area this week to celebrate Veterans Day.

The concerts are set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Dublin Theater in Dublin, and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Zuver Center for Performing Arts at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon.

Tickets for the event are free. Concert-goers are encouraged to come early.

For more information on the event, call the Air Force Reserve Command public affairs office at 327-1760.

To contact military writer Thomas L. Day, call 744-4489.