Brown Helps Bring U.S. Air Force Secretary to Toledo Today, As Part of Effort to Bring F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Mission to 180th Fighter Wing

SWANTON, OH – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – who has urged U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James to make the 180^th Fighter Wing home to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter mission – thanked Secretary Lee James for accepting his invitation to visit Toledo Air National Guard Base. A representative from Brown’s office joined Secretary Lee James in meeting with Ohio National Guard Leadership. Brown pushed to bring James to Toledo as part of efforts to secure the F-35A mission.

“Toledo’s 180th Fighter Wing has a proven record of success and a strategic, geographic, and economic advantage over other potential locations,” Brown said. “Secretary Lee James’ visit gave the women and men of the 180th a chance to demonstrate that they stand ready to take on this mission, and I hope the Air Force will select northwest Ohio as the new home of the F-35A mission.”

The 180^th Fighter Wing employs approximately 1,400 individuals in northwest Ohio and conducts the nation’s number one homeland defense mission, Aerospace Control Alert.

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