FORT SMITH – During a visit to Fort Smith on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack expressed confidence in the opportunity to make the city the site of an educational mission.
He made several stops at Fort Smith, an excursion to the Rheem Manufacturing Co. facility, where he spoke to reporters.
Womack said his stopover at Fort Smith began with a discussion with representatives of the Arkansas National Guard and 188 Wing, an Arkansas Air National Guard unit founded at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in the city. The assembly focused on the ongoing procedure to eventually attract an F-35 component of army sales and the base of some Singapore F-16 aircraft.
“This is an ongoing discussion, led primarily through the Congressional delegation, Senators [Tom] Cotton and [John] Boozman and I primarily involved,” Womack said. “A resolution will be reached in the winter, at the end of this year, early next year, in which one of the sites would be sub-selected as the winner, if you will, in this draw.”
The base of Fort Smith Regional Airport has been decided as one of five imaginable sites to accommodate Singapore’s F-35 aircraft and F-16 squadron, according to Cotton’s workplace in July.
Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett signed a memorandum on July 6 to identify a permanent foreign army sales education center for 24 to 36 F-35s and F-16s of the Singapore Air Force in the continental United States. The Singapore Air Force is an F-35 foreign military sales visitor who needs to have his F-16 squadron, lately at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, with his F-35 aircraft in a long-term location.
“I think we’re making a wonderful deal for Fort Smith,” Womack said. “We’ve already had a manned flight project here. We have the infrastructure in place. We have some of the most productive airspace functions across the country here. Obviously, there are some things we probably wouldn’t have. Others might. Array… But I think we have a fair argument for that.”
Womack said he would be “very surprised” if Fort Smith is not one of the two places to consider.
“We will work with the Air Force, up to the secretariat level, and paint with the Federal Aviation Administration and Fort Smith’s largest networked paintings to make the most productive case imaginable for this facility,” Womack said.
A to the airport will take position one way or another in October, according to Womack. Others, such as Tim Allen, president and chief executive officer of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce; Fort Smith School District Superintendent Doug Brubaker; and Mayor George McGill – will also participate in the process.
“Part of our sales pitch is the quality of life we have here in the Fort Smith metropolitan area, not least that would involve the kind of schools it has, what kind of higher education it has, what kind of government it has, physical care, all the attributes of a smart economic progression platform, and we have those of Fort Smith.” Womack said.
Hulman Field in Indiana, Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas and Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan are also being for this mission, according to Cotton’s office.
Regarding other elements of his visit, Womack described his tour of the Rheem facility as “fascinating.” When asked about Rheem’s adherence to regulations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, Womack said he saw proper social distancing everywhere in the plant, as well as the wearing of masks and other, normal protective equipment.
“This is a style facility on how to meet CDC guidelines,” Womack said.
Rheem produces water heaters and residential and advertising boilers, as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.
A press release from Womack’s said the congressman’s program included an assembly with members of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and other network leaders to discuss “local progression projects, economic expansion, and urban plan issues.”