Congress of the United States Washington, BE 20510 February 14,2019 ‘The Honorable Heather Wilson Secretary of the Air Force 1670 Air Force Pentagon Washington, DC 20330-1670 Dear Secretary Wilson: In December 2018, you announced that the Air Force would conduct a Strategic Basing Process to determine the new location for the F-22 Flight and Maintenance Formal Training Units (FTU). As the Air Force looks to move this mission from Tyndall AFB, and its temporary location at Eglin AFB, we write to express our strong support for moving the mission to Joint Base Langley-Eustis. While Joint Base Langley-Eustis currently has two F-22 squadrons, as well as supporting maintenance units, it was built for the beddown of three squadrons. It is thereby underutilizing the airspace and Air Force investment in ramp, hangar, and operations support facilities. The east coast Mid-Atlantic training ranges provide an excellent opportunity to train with other 4" and 5" generation aircraft in the region. Moving the F-22 FTU to Langley would advance one of the recommendations put forward by the Government Accountability Office regarding F-22 organization: the need for “consolidating the fleet into larger squadrons and/or wings in order to improve aircraft availability. Beyond the existing ramp space and infrastructure at Langley that would allow it to quickly receive aircraft at minimal additional cost, a decision to move the F-22 FTU to Langley would leverage a number of key benefits that Langley and the surrounding areas have. The Hampton Roads area has a long history of supporting our nation’s military and their families, and would provide strong recruiting and retention ability, Additionally, the Virginia Air National Guard stands uniquely positioned to support the FTU, with experienced instructors and maintainers well versed on the platform. We ask that you give full consideration to Joint Base Langley-Eustis as a host to this mission. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for any additional information, ‘Thank you for your consider ' John Pendleton, “Force Structure: F-22 Organization and Utilization Changes Could Improve Aircraft Availabilty and Pilot Training,” Government Accountability Office, (Jul 2018), available at btps:/wwww gao.gov/assets/700/693279.pdMok R Mme MARK R. WARNER United States Senator Re § [AN Member of Congress JENVER RIGGLEMAN Member of Congress ROBERT C. “BOBBY” Te. Member of Congress Member of Congress LD S, BEYER IR. Member of Congress pee TIM KAINE. United States Senator ELAINE G. LURIA Member of Congress GERALD B. CONNOLLY Member of Congress A. Yonetd Ni fastm ‘A. DONALD MCEACHIN Member of Congress ao "ER WEXTON Member of Congress (Son Dani BEN CLINE Member of Congress