(WESTFIELD – 4/19/2023) Yesterday the Pentagon announced the assignment of 18 of the Air Force’s latest generation F-35A Lightning II fighter jets to the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield.
The Department of Defense considered several contenders from across the country in their final decision and specifically looked at how Massachusetts supported service-members and military families in selecting Barnes. Legislation authored by Senator John Velis (D-Westfield) and signed by Governor Baker last year, known as the SPEED Act, helped Massachusetts meet criteria in these areas that the Department of Defense was looking for.
“The 104th Fighter Wing is one of the most accomplished flying units in our nation and yesterday’s announcement ensures that the 104th, and Barnes as a whole, will continue that legacy and will remain a critical part of our national defense strategy for decades to come,” said Senator Velis, who is Chairman of the Legislature’s Veterans’ Committee and a Veteran himself. “This decision is a testament to all the work that has taken place over the last several years. Specifically, last year’s passage of the SPEED Act signaled to the Department of Defense that Massachusetts is a trailblazer and that our Commonwealth is the best place for military service members to call home.”
Among other pieces, the SPEED Act expedites the professional licensing process for military spouses so that they continue their careers, allows for advanced and virtual enrollment for military children to resolve disruptions in education, and expands benefits and recognitions provided to service-members and military families in Massachusetts. The measures in the law were all criteria that the Department of Defense looks for when making military-basing assignments.
“From day one the Department of Defense made it explicitly clear to us that they were looking at how states cared for military families in making this decision, and the SPEED Act ensured that we met and exceeded those criteria,” said Senator Velis. “This assignment of F-35A aircraft will bring new and transformative economic investments to our community and will benefit all of Western Massachusetts in the process. I am proud that Massachusetts and the Legislature was able to play a role in making that happen.”
###