Civic leaders gain insight into Luke, D-M missions

  • Published
  • By Capt. Miki Gilloon
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
The 56th Fighter Wing hosted a civic leader tour Oct. 11 and 12 in which more than 32 community and business leaders joined together to gain a better understanding of the mission integration of Luke and Davis-Monthan Air Force Bases.

The tour consisted of a visit to the Barry M. Goldwater Range at Gila Bend where the civic leaders watched F-16 and A-10 aircraft practice air-to-air and air-to-ground maneuvers.

Additionally, they received in-depth briefings of the range, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight and Luke's efforts in cultural and archeological preservation. Aside from touring the range, the civic leaders also visited the Pima Air Museum, the military's famous military aircraft "bone yard," or Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, and the 355th FW.

At the 355th FW, the civic leaders were immersed in the diversity of Davis-Monthan's mission as they toured a phase  hangar, viewed an A-10 weapons load demonstration and got up close and personal to an A-10 aircraft.

Rob Antoniak, City of Goodyear vice mayor, said he didn't realize just how integrated the missions of Luke and Davis-Monthan are, with the strategic tie being the Barry M. Goldwater Range. The 1.7 million-acre range provides highly flexible, and realistic training for the joint services.

"The Barry M. Goldwater Range visit, for me, was realizing how much these bases depend on one another -- from Luke conducting its mission at the range, or the A-10 using the range, and then seeing the full life cycle of the aircraft from the trainer to the boneyard," he said. "Seeing the evolution of how these bases are co-dependent was eye opening for me."

The civic leaders hailed from the greater Phoenix metropolitan and West Valley areas, and included members of Fighter Country Partnership and Luke's honorary squadron commander program.

"This tour opened my eyes to the diverse nature of the mission our Air Force performs in Arizona," said Alisa Lyons, Valley Partnership governmental relations vice president. "The interconnectivity of our military installations has never been clearer."