Amazing the difference a few years can make -- not to mention the game-changing impact a Duluth-style, Northland-fueled outpouring of support can have.
Just ask Duluth's Air National Guard unit, the storied 148th Fighter Wing, based up at the airport. Its wing commander, Col. Frank Stokes, told the tale of a terrific turnaround this week at a Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon in the Kitchi Gammi Club.
Just a few short years ago, in 2005, Stokes said, the base was targeted for closure. The recommendation was baffling. Since 1948, the 148th had been racking up stellar inspection reports, top awards and an unblemished record as one of only a handful of air bases around the country responsible for protecting our skies from enemy attack. In 1999, the 148th's mission was expanded to include precision bombing. After Sept. 11, the 148th was called upon to patrol the skies above the White House, the president's residence in Texas and other key locations.
Shut down the 148th? The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission obviously needed a good talking to -- and that's just what Duluth and the Northland gave it. Led by our chamber and our elected leaders in Washington, the community fought the recommendation. And won. A dozen other Air National Guard F-16 units were closed. But the 148th remained open, one of 15 still operating today.
Saved were 1,000 Air Guard jobs, including
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455 good-paying, full-time positions, and an annual economic impact on our region of nearly $96 million. Had the base been closed, much of an estimated
$74 million in construction and reconstruction work over the past nine years wouldn't have happened, to the chagrin of local contractors in need of the work. Some of those contractors wouldn't now be building a $15 million fuel-storage facility at the air guard base or be looking forward to the construction next year of an $8 million training hangar.
In addition to being one of the Northland's largest employers, the 148th also is our region's only bomb squad, and it's the one that responds any time there's a medical or other emergency at Duluth International Airport.
As a key part of our national defense, the 148th has deployed to at least 26 hot spots around the globe since 2005. That includes three major deployments to Iraq, Stokes said.
Shut down the 148th? Please. The notion seems as laughable now as the base's future is bright. In April, the 148th was assigned the Air Force's most advanced jets, the Block 50 F-16s, which are expected to be roaring over Duluth and the Northland -- as well as around the globe, wherever they're most needed -- until at least 2025.
"The 148th is a community treasure," said chamber President and CEO David Ross. "We are so appreciative of what you bring to our country."
