(The Center Square) – Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix is being considered for a downgrade.
U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Arizona, heard that confirmed when he asked General David W. Allvin, the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, about the base during a hearing this week.
“While I support and appreciate the need to reduce the bloat in our military at the top, we cannot ignore the importance of Luke Air Force Base – not only to those of us who call CD8 home, but to our nation’s national security,” Hamadeh told The Center Square.
Hamadeh went on to state he has “the utmost confidence” in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to make the appropriate evaluation and act accordingly.
“That being said, I have full confidence the final evaluation will recognize that the men and women who serve Luke Air Force Base deserve nothing but the very best from us,” said Hamadeh, a former U.S. Army Reserve captain and intelligence officer, during Thursday’s interview.
Located in Glendale, Luke Air Force Base is named after 2nd Lt Frank Luke Jr., the first aviator awarded the Medal of Honor. Luke shot down more than a dozen airplanes and balloons during World War I. In the mid-1940s, pilots of Luke Air Force Base’s 56th Fighter Wing destroyed more enemy planes than any other Army Air Force group in the 8th Air Force.
During the exchange with Allvin, who did undergraduate pilot training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, Hamadeh noted Luke Air Force Base is still important today, as it trains 75% of the world’s F-35 pilots.
“I know image and stature matter with our foreign partners quite substantially, and it’s important to keep a unified command behind a one-star general at Luke Air Force Base,” Hamadeh said during Wednesday’s hearing.
