Upcoming In-Person or Virtual Public Hearings

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) today for the beddown of a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Pilot Training Center (PTC) at Ebbing Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Arkansas, or Selfridge ANGB, Michigan.

The DAF’s Proposed Action would establish a permanent FMS PTC to accommodate up to 36 aircraft (24 F-35 aircraft and 12 F-16 aircraft) utilizing existing facilities to the maximum extent practicable to meet FMS requirements. Both the Preferred Alternative, at Ebbing ANGB, and Alternative 2, at Selfridge ANGB, would include the beddown of F-35 and F-16 aircraft; use of respective airfields and air­space; military construction projects; facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects; and personnel increases. The number of personnel at each location would increase under the Preferred Alternative and Alternative 2. The beddown would not require changes to airspace configuration to support the Preferred Alternative or Alternative 2. The EIS analyzes the impacts associated with implementation of the Preferred Alternative, Alternative 2, and a No Action Alternative.

The Draft EIS is available for download at www.FMSPTCEIS.com.  Electronic copies of the document are also available at local libraries. The project website provides a list of local libraries where the document is available.

As part of the ongoing public involvement process associated with the EIS, the DAF will be holding two in-person public hearings and one virtual public hearing to receive public comments on the environmental impacts of the Proposed Action presented in the Draft EIS. Verbal comments will be accepted at all hearings; input is valuable and assists the DAF in making informed decisions

The DAF will host the public hearings at the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, September 21, 2022, from 6 – 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.  This hearing will be in-person at a community facility near Ebbing Air National Guard Base.
• Wednesday, September 28, 2022, from 6 – 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  This hearing will be in-person at a community facility near Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
• Wednesday, October 5, 2022, from 5 – 7 p.m. Central Standard Time / 6 – 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  This will be a virtual hearing.

Interested parties need to register to attend a public hearing and sign up to provide an oral comment. To register, please visit www.FMSPTCEIS.com. Pre-registration is required for all in-person meetings to comply with the Secretary of the Air Force COVID-19 mitigation guidance and recommended for the virtual hearing. Meeting locations, links and instructions will be distributed after registering and prior to all public hearings. If unable to pre-register online for a hearing, you may call your local base Public Affairs office to register:

• Ebbing ANGB Public Affairs: (479) 573-5323
• Selfridge ANGB Public Affairs: (586) 239-4735

Additional information can be found on the project website at www.FMSPTCEIS.com. The project website can also be used to submit comments.  Inquiries and comments-by-mail regarding the DAF proposal should be directed to:

Comments will be accepted at any time during the Draft EIS 45-public comment period. To ensure the DAF has sufficient time to consider public input in the preparation of the Final EIS, public comments must be submitted to the website or mailed to one of the addresses listed above by October 17, 2022.

Inquiries should be directed to:

• Ebbing Air National Guard Base Public Affairs, (479) 573-5323

• Selfridge Air National Guard Base Public Affairs, (586) 239-4735

For more information, visit the project website at www.FMSPTCEIS.com.