The Air Force is injecting Active Duty personnel into the Oregon Air National Guard-run F-15C schoolhouse at Kingsley Field starting this fall to increase Eagle pilot production, announced officials. With the standup of the new active association, the ANG’s 173rd Fighter Wing is getting seven additional F-15Cs and a total of 84 Active Duty personnel, according to a unit release. “In order to meet the nation’s need for increased pilot production, additional resources and personnel are an absolute necessity,” said 173rd FW Commander Col. Jeremy Baenen. “This Total Force integration will create operational efficiencies, saving money and resources, and, above all, increasing Air Force combat capabilities,” he added. Kingsley Field, located in Klamath Falls in southern Oregon, is the Air Force’s sole F-15C conversation training site. It will soon be home to 32 F-15Cs. The Active Duty personnel, including eight pilots, 68 maintainers, and eight support airmen, will begin arriving in October. The wing will phase them in over a six-month period, states the release. (Kingsley Field report by MSgt. Jennifer Shirar)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.