Members of Congress Visit Incirlik

Members of Congress visited Incirlik AB, Turkey, to meet with airmen assigned to the 39th Air Base Wing there. During the Jan. 18 visit, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.); Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.); Rep. Ander Crenshaw and Rep. Vern Buchanan, both Republicans from Florida; Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.); and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), along with their spouses, took a base tour and shared a meal with airmen from their home states at a dining facility on base, according to the Jan. 21 release. “To have my senator take time out of his day meant a lot to me,” said SSgt. Thomas Meyer of the 39th Force Support Squadron. It “made me feel like Congress hasn’t forgotten about us.” The delegates also met with Dutch airmen from the 1st Netherlands Ballistic Missile Defense Task Force at Incirlik and visited a Dutch Patriot battery site, states the release. The 1st Netherlands Ballistic Missile Defense Task Force augments Turkey’s air defense capabilities and has contributed “to the de-escalation of the Syrian crisis along the Turkey border,” states the release.