TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Military bases are an important part of our local economy.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base estimates it has a $1.5 Billion local impact.
Now we can give you an inside look at an important military neighbor you may know less about----The 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard.
Expert maintainers keep 80 F-16s flying for the wing's mission of training foreign pilots. That part of the 162nd is based, not at Davis-Monthan, but at Tucson International.
High speed flights in the F-16 require hours of work to prepare the planes and keep them safe.
That's where maintainers from the 162nd Wing roll up their sleeves and pull out their wrenches.
They have 80 planes to keep flying.
Senior Master Sergeant Dave Davis says, “There's really nothing like putting in the hours and producing good aircraft maintenance and watching it go out and execute its mission."
Many Air Guardsmen serve one weekend a month, but many others work full time. Senior Master Sergeant Dave Davis has been fixing planes for the 162nd for 26 years.
While regular Air Force maintainers may move every few years, Air Guardsmen live a more stable version of the military life, and can sink deeper roots into communities like Tucson.
Dave Davis says, “They're shopping, they're buying homes, they're buying cars. They're doing everything that the local community does but we have the great benefit of the part time and full time jobs here that's highly stable and can last for years and years and years."
Estimates say the 162nd adds about 280 million a year to the local economy.
And right now the 162nd is looking to fill about 75 maintenance jobs. The main requirement is loving the idea of making things fly. The Guard trains you to do the rest.
If you want one of those jobs you can check the 162nd career page or call 520-295-7000.
