Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James Visited Toledo Air National Guard Base on Monday, June 6, 2016
U.S. Reps. Kaptur, Latta, U.S. Senators Brown, Portman Attended
Toledo, OH – Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited the Toledo Air National Guard Base and the 180th Fighter Wing on Monday, June 6, 2016 as part of the competitive evaluation process for assigning the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter to the 180th Fighter Wing.
Secretary James toured the facility, had lunch with Airmen, and received extensive briefings from Toledo Air National Guard Base leadership and a bipartisan coalition of the Ohio congressional delegation, including Toledo-area U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Bob Latta, and Ohio’s U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman.
Background:
According to materials provided by the Toledo Air National Guard, the 180th Fighter Wing:
- employs approximately 1,400 individuals in northwest Ohio and is already home to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which conducts the nation’s number one homeland defense mission, Aerospace Control Alert;
- has a strategic location in the northern Midwest that places it within 600 miles of 60 percent of the U.S. population. Accordingly, since October 2008 the 180th FW has been charged with the 24/7/365 Aerospace Control Alert (ACA) mission protecting skies over major metropolitan areas, railway transportation hubs, nuclear power plants, freshwater ports and shipping lanes, and has done so with distinction;
- consistently proves to be an essential, long term solution for the defense of our nation;
- was recognized as “Best seen to date” and “benchmark operations” by NORAD’s no notice evaluation, receiving a MISSION READY rating in 2015, 2014, and 2012;
- was recognized as “Best seen to date” and “benchmark operations” Command Post by the First Air Forces Alert Forces Operational Assessment Evaluation, receiving a MISSION READY rating in 2015, 2014, and 2012;
- was recognized in 2015 with the ACA Security Forces of the Year, SSgt Richard Hitch;
- has flown over 900 ACA missions to date, including 135 real-world events (last event in July 2014 intercepting a Boeing 737 Sunwing Airlines out of Toronto with a bomb threat on board), totaling over 380 flying hours.
Congresswoman Kaptur serves on the U.S. House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which oversees funding over the Department of Defense, including the Air National Guard.
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