KTRV Fox 12 F-35's Not Coming to Idaho -- For Now
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Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho -- They're not coming to Idaho, at least this time-around.
The United States Air Force has decided to not include the Gem State as a place to house a new fighter mission. While the decision was met with disappointment, there's still optimism some of those planes could be stationed here in the future.
The roar of the Air Force's new fighter jet, the F-35 will not be heard over Idaho's skies for the foreseeable future. Mountain Home Air Force Base was not on the first round of the preferred alternative list to become a base of operations for three squadrons of the new fighter.
Idaho's leaders have been working hard to bring them here. In a statement, Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter had this to say: "We're disappointed, but by no means are we defeated. It's a long process for deploying an aircraft that will be in use for decades to come, and this is just round one."
That was a sentiment echoed by his lieutenant governor who happened to be at Mountain Home for an orientation flight.
"The necessity of this range will continue to be very important to not only Idaho, but to America and the world," said Lt. Gov. Brad Little.
One of the reasons the Air Force gave for not choosing Mountain Home this time around was the extra cost involved, meaning new construction, because the new squadrons would be an addition to the fighter operations already there.
"There are some buildings that would have to be built here on the base in order for us to house three squadrons of F-35s," said Base Commander Col. Ron Buckley.
Despite the disappointment of not being on the preferred alternative list, the base commander says the F-15 missions are here to stay for a long time.
"We have a great mission here in Mountain Home with our F-15s." said Buckley.
The biggest beneficiary from the new squadrons would have been the people who live the nearby community. The construction industry would have been the first to get a shot in the arm.
"Over the long term, adding more squadrons to the base was certainly going to help out economic standpoint here in Mountain Home. That's what we were primarily looking for," said Mountain Home Mayor Tom Rist.
Even though they didn't make the first cut, there's a sense of optimism that at least some F-35s will be based there in the future. It's likely 1,700 will be bought and Thursday's decision only involved 250 to 300 planes.
"The Air Force is looking to go through this process every two to three years as they look for where they're going to base the rest of those F-35s," said Buckley.
Meanwhile, Boise's Gowen Field was also shut out of the first round. The Idaho Air National Guard Station at Gowen Field would have served as a training base for the new fighters.
Luke Air Force Base outside Phoenix, Ariz., and the Burlington Air National Guard Station in Vermont were chosen this time around. Like Mountain Home, the folks at the Idaho Air National Guard are hopeful they'll come up for consideration again once more planes are produced.
"The Air Force is going to need, we figure, 11 training squadrons. So, if one base has been selected as one of the training squadron locations, there's still room for several more squadrons to be put," said Col. Timothy Marsano, Spokesman for the Idaho Air National Guard.
The F-35 is out for now, but Gowen Field could become home to a new troop transport squadron. It's one of two candidates to become a base of operations for the C-27-J that's still in its preliminary stages. The Air Force will do site and environmental impact analyses.
