The Federal Aviation Administration overturned its decision to shutter the air traffic control tower at Kingsley Field, Ore., according to officials with the state Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing, the F-15 unit that operates there. The tower was on FAA’s chopping block due to budget sequestration, according to the wing’s April 5 release. However, Rep. Greg Walden (R), in whose congressional district the installation falls, came to the tower’s defense, urging the FAA to reconsider its plan since, he asserted, closing the tower posed “a risk to both public safety and national defense.” Local civic leaders and wing leadership also drafted a petition to keep the control tower open. In late March, the FAA released a list of the towers that would be spared from closing due to national security concerns, and Kingsley’s tower was one of them, states the release. “For once, common sense prevailed,” said Walden. (Kingsley Field report by TSgt. Jefferson Thompson)
B-1 Bomber Task Force Deploys to Japan
Oct. 18, 2025
A quartet of B-1Bs from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas have landed at Misawa AB, Japan, likely for a series of exercises with Japanese, U.S. and Australian forces.
