In an April letter to a top U.S. military official, four members of Arizona’s congressional delegation mentioned plans for new, unspecified flying missions coming to the state.
Now, the U.S Air Force says its Davis-Monthan base near Tucson is the preferred place to put part of its special operations command.
The Air Force also says it will deactivate three squadrons at Davis-Monthan and retire dozens of ground-attack aircraft called A-10 Thunderbolts.
Officials plan to bring squadrons and a fleet from as far away as the East Coast to Davis-Monthan over the next five years.
The Air Force’s goal is to regionally focus all special-operations-command abilities such as attack, mobility and intelligence gathering.
A prepared statement from the same bipartisan group, consisting of both Arizona senators and two congressmen, calls the announcement a positive step for a location they see as a natural choice.
