What others say: Selection of preferred F-35 site great news

  • Sunday, August 17, 2014 8:59pm
  • Opinion

The Interior got some of the best news Thursday that residents have seen all year. After a lengthy selection process, the Air Force announced it has picked Eielson Air Force Base as the preferred location for two squadrons of its next-generation F-35 fighter jets. It’s a decision that has the potential to benefit local communities for decades. It’s also a ringing endorsement of the military and strategic importance of the base, which local, state and national leaders have touted both in attempts to save Eielson from downsizing and closure and in the fight to bring in new units like the F-35s.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, there are still a few hoops to jump through before the jets wing their way into Eielson’s expansive training space. The final decision will hinge on the successful completion of an environmental impact statement, slated to be done by November of 2015. That study could still raise issues with Eielson’s selection if it identifies obstacles that can’t be overcome. It’s a road Eielson has been down before, as a draft EIS was completed when the Air Force was considering the transfer of the base’s F-16 Aggressor Squadron to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. That study didn’t identify any massive weaknesses in Eielson’s ability to house aircraft and their crews, and though the needs of the F-35s will be different, the parameters under study will likely be similar.

Assuming the base clears the EIS hurdle, the creation of about 3,000 jobs at Eielson (as estimated by a Fairbanks Economic Development Corp.) will be a tremendous economic boon for the area. FEDC estimates that those jobs will mean an additional $379 million in new payroll for the area, which will touch virtually every sector of the local economy.

At the same time, there are reasons to consider the economic influx in a sober light. Fairbanks and the Interior already lean heavily on government-funded institutions like the military and the University of Alaska for economic stability. Recent state and federal cost-cutting has shown the danger in depending too much on public money, and in both cases the mentality of looking for savings and trying to cut oversized budgets doesn’t augur well for communities like ours in which they are the top employers and economic drivers. We shouldn’t see the economic benefits of the potential F-35 placement as an excuse to ease back on efforts to diversify our economy so that our community can better withstand state and federal budget crunches.

We also shouldn’t let the fact that F-35s are very likely headed our way cloud our judgment in assessing the aircraft itself. The F-35 has a well-publicized history of setbacks on its way to production, and costs per aircraft have increased significantly over the past seven years as work on the plane has progressed. We hope that these issues can be resolved, as it would be unacceptable to put our fighting men and women into an aircraft that doesn’t give them the best tools and capabilities to defend the nation.

The Air Force’s decision to advance Eielson as the clear favorite to house F-35s is a testament to the work done at all levels of our community and state and also to that done by those in the Department of Defense who saw the strategic advantages in location and training offered by Interior Alaska. We’ll be eagerly awaiting a final decision in November of next year, and — assuming a positive outcome at that juncture — the planes’ arrival in 2019. But we won’t forget that work must continue elsewhere to build the Interior community that we deserve, as do as the Air Force pilots, families and other service members who we hope will be our neighbors.

— Fairbanks Daily News-Miner,

Aug. 10

More in Opinion

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Doug Mills/The New York Times file photo)
Opinion: Mistaking flattery for respect

Flattery played a role in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading