Jets belong here, not Gowen

Dear editor,

I applaud Patrick Harren (letter to the editor, Oct. 19) for speaking out against stationing the model F-15 and F-35 jets at Gowen Field over the much better suited Mountain Home Air Force Base.

Mountain Home Air Force Base has all the same benefits of Boise's vastness and environment that is similar to combat operations for the jets. However, the obvious negative noise factor for a nearby population and the high cost factor that Harren justifiably presented in relocating those jets to Gowen are not a problem at MHAFB.

The F-15s are currently located at MHAFB -- a complete infrastructure of our military with existing runways built for the fighter jets. The Air Force base is 11 miles from Mountain Home whereas Gowen is located too close to Boise's densely populated Vista Bench and the nearby growing Boise Airport.

To the people who live in Mountain Home, the F-15s are the sounds of Freedom.

As for the commute, the cut off from Airbase Road to the I-84 that bypasses Mountain Home completely makes the commute one of the best in the valley.

Keeping Mountain Home Air Force Base viable in Idaho is extremely significant in this conversation. We want the economic benefit of MHAFB for all of Idaho, and keeping the base in Idaho has recently been in question.

-- Andrea Fisher, Mountain Home