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Florida Guard Lobbying For F-35 Squadron

An F-35A prototype at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Samuel King Jr. via wikimedia commons
/
US Air Force

A Florida Air National Guard unit is in the running for a squadron of F-35 fighter jets.  Mark Oglesby from the Florida Department of Military Affairs says his agency is pushing to bring the planes to Jacksonville.

“Last week we were chosen to be one of the top five units that are in the running to receive this fifth generation airframe," Oglesby told a Florida Senate subcommittee Wednesday. "We hope to gain both state and federal support for this endeavor.  If Florida receives F-35s they will be 100 percent federally funded and the decision will be made by the secretary of the air force.”

The F-35s would replace a fleet of aging F-15s in providing air defense for the country’s southeastern seaboard.  But the long-awaited aircraft have received criticism for repeated budget over-runs—recently from President-elect Donald Trump.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.