‘Woke’ politics could delay money for foreign pilot training center in Fort Smith

If the stars line up in the next few months amid the gravity of “woke” politics, the ongoing effort to create a foreign military pilot training center in Fort Smith could receive $173 million – based on legislation in the U.S. Senate – for the next fiscal year.

Ebbing Air National Guard Base, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected in March by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Initial estimates are that 1,500 military personnel and family members will be associated with the new center once it is fully operational.

U.S. Air Force officials have said the earliest planes and pilots from foreign nations could arrive at Ebbing would be in late 2024, part of the military’s fiscal year 2025 beginning in September 2024. The full complement of 12 F-16s and 24 F-35s from various nations could arrive in fiscal year 2026 at the earliest. It has been estimated that the full cost to create an operational foreign pilot training center will range between $700 million and $800 million.

Legislation – broadly known as MilCon-VA for military construction and Veterans Affairs – approved by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee in June that provided $75.5 million for Ebbing’s FMS mission was approved by the full House on Thursday (July 27).

“The important Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill is now one step closer to becoming law, which is a win for Fort Smith and veterans across Arkansas and the nation,” noted a statement from U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers. “I ensured critical construction projects for the FMS mission at Ebbing Air National Guard Base were included, and I’m proud the bill fully funds veterans’ healthcare and benefits.”

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., has secured $83 million in the Senate version of MilCon-VA, but it has yet to be approved by the full Senate. There is also $90 million in Senate defense appropriation legislation that is also pending a full Senate vote.

“The $83 million in Fiscal Year 2024 Senate MilCon-VA Appropriations and the $90.0 million in the Senate Defense Appropriations bills, which is what Congress is working on advancing, will go to make additional improvements. At the current rate, the Air Force would likely expect the funds to be made available late this year or early next,” noted a statement from Boozman’s office to Talk Business & Politics. “Congress is out of session in August, so the bill won’t pass until September at the earliest. In an ideal situation, the bill would be passed by the end of the fiscal year, September 30.”

Boozman’s office stressed that the Senator was able last year to obtain $28 million for the U.S. Air Force to begin work at Ebbing for the training center.

The Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will be different to what the House has passed. The $886 billion NDAA approved by the House in a narrow 219-210 vote includes language pushed by social conservatives. The House legislation includes language that would seek to prohibit critical race theory teaching in the military, seek to end diversity, inclusion and equity programs and positions in the military, prohibit drag shows, and would block any attempt at a military “Green New Deal.”

“The FY24 NDAA pushes back against the radical woke ideology being forced on our servicemen and women and restores the focus of our military on lethality,” according to a fact sheet from U.S. House leadership.

The Democrat-controlled Senate will not have any of the House language on social issues. The two bills will go through a conference committee to draft a compromise bill before returning to each chamber for another vote. House Republicans have promised to reject any compromise that does not include anti-woke provisions.