I voted YES for the Fiscal Year 2027 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, which includes $80 million for Kingsley Field’s Academic Training Center. This funding is an important step forward as the 173rd Fighter Wing prepares for its future mission as an F-35A training base.
Support funding for Kingsley Field’s Academic Training Center and the 173rd Fighter Wing’s transition to an F-35A training mission.
Occurrences
the President’s 2027 budget includes an $80 million dollar line item for the construction of a new F-35 Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the Academic Training Center to be established at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon
Evidence
The 2025-2027 Oregon Military Department legislatively adopted budget says Kingsley Field is “becoming the US Air Force’s third Formal Training Unit for F-35A pilots” and notes the first F-35A jet is expected to arrive at Kingsley Field in August 2026, with 20 aircraft slated for the base.
Oregon’s governor announced that the Secretary of the Air Force selected Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base as the sole host of the F-35A Lightning II Fighter Wing training squadron, superseding the earlier F-15EX training-base announcement.
The Oregon Military Department budget materials list Kingsley Field-related capital and facility line items, including Kingsley Field civil engineering, security, fire protection, environmental, and capital improvement categories.
The House Appropriations Committee report for FY2026 military construction appropriations covers DOD MILCON priorities, but the accessible text returned here did not surface a Kingsley Field earmark or Academic Training Center-specific provision in the excerpted material.
CRS summarizes the FY2026 military construction appropriations process and the Administration’s request for DOD MILCON and family housing funding, but the summary excerpt did not identify Kingsley Field’s Academic Training Center by name.
Assessments
Available evidence shows the Kingsley Field F-35A transition is moving forward and was officially selected, but the record here does not verify that Cliff Bentz secured or materially advanced the specific federal funding for the Academic Training Center. Because the transition element was delivered later and the funding element is unproven, this is partial credit rather than full delivery.
Available evidence supports that Kingsley Field's transition to an F-35A training mission moved forward: the Air Force selected Kingsley Field for the F-35A training squadron in 2023, and Oregon Military Department budget materials later described the base as becoming the Air Force's third Formal Training Unit for F-35A pilots with aircraft arrival expected in 2026. However, the promise was broader and specifically included support for funding the Academic Training Center. The cited appropriations materials do not verify that federal funding for that Academic Training Center was enacted or specifically secured. Because one major part of the promise appears to be advancing or achieved while the specific funding component is not clearly confirmed, the best judgment is partial fulfillment. The documented progress occurs after the promise period, so later_term fits best.