Arkansas civic leaders tour Luke

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Melanie Holochwost
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  When the local community supports the Air Force mission, everyone wins. But, in order to gain and maintain support, the community needs to be knowledgeable about what the Air Force does and why.

In order to learn about the Air Force, the Luke Air Force Base mission and see firsthand what Airmen do, 40 civic leaders from communities surrounding Little Rock AFB, Ark., visited Luke AFB Feb. 24 and Davis-Monthan AFB Feb. 25.

"These civic leaders are our neighbors and their outstanding support is the foundation of Little Rock AFB," said Cynthia Maddox, 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Community Relations chief. "We hope they share what they learned on this tour with their family, friends and coworkers."

A large portion of the day was spent at the 425th and 21st fighter squadrons, Luke's foreign squadrons, because Little Rock AFB is in the process of increasing international partnerships, according to Col. Mark Czelusta, 314th Airlift Wing commander.

"Little Rock AFB is the world's largest C-130 base and many foreign countries are looking to train with us," he said. "We brought our civic leaders to Luke because our missions are similar and Luke is a model from which our community can learn."

Civic leaders Bob Ferguson and John Burkhalter said they were very impressed with what they learned here.

"Although I'm already a huge supporter of the C-130 mission, this trip and the knowledge I gained made me an even more enthusiastic supporter of Little Rock AFB and the Air Force as a whole," Mr. Ferguson said. "It was very exciting to see how dedicated all of the young Airmen are and how hard they work."

Mr. Burkhalter said the trip increased his confidence in our nation's defense capabilities.

"I didn't realize how closely the Air Force works with other bases and countries," he said. "After touring Luke, I feel much safer."

Luke's success with foreign military training was a draw for the wing leadership and civic leaders from Arkansas, said Rusty Mitchell, 56th Fighter Wing Community Initiatives Team director.

"Civic leaders from Arkansas had the opportunity to see an established base conduct foreign training missions," he said. "All Air Force bases can learn from those that have already faced similar issues. This is why Brig. Gen. J. D. Harris, 56th FW commander, offered our assistance to the 314th AW in preparing for their new endeavor."