We need to prepare for base’s new growth

Dear editor –

As Mountain Home continues to grow, so does the role our community plays in supporting Mountain Home Air Force Base and its missions. I recently joined Mayor Rich Sykes, Retired Chief Master Sgt. Marty Anderson and Retired Brig. Gen. Will Marshall on an advocacy trip to the East Coast, where we met with senior leadership at Langley Air Force Base, the Pentagon and Idaho’s Congressional Delegation.

The purpose was clear: Ensure Mountain Home is prepared for the base’s projected growth and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with it.

By October 2025, 300 new airmen and their families are expected to arrive at Mountain Home Air Force Base. By 2027, that number could grow by another 700 personnel as additional squadrons are added, largely due to aircraft being reassigned from RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom.

This growth brings with it an estimated $11 million annual economic impact, along with approximately 400 to 500 additional students for our local schools.

This isn’t just about military readiness; it’s about community readiness. The success of these new missions depends not only on the capabilities of our airmen but on the quality of life we, as a community, can offer their families.

That means ensuring housing availability and affordability and preparing our schools to welcome more students without compromising educational quality. It means investing in infrastructure, like roads, utilities and wastewater systems so that growth strengthens, rather than strains, our community.

Encouraging incoming families to live right here in Mountain Home benefits us all. It supports small businesses, boosts the local tax base and ensures the vitality of our public services. A new child development center on base is expected to break ground soon, which will help meet childcare needs for infants and toddlers, but we also need to grow preschool capacity across the community.

We’ve shared this message with our Congressional Delegation, advocating for federal and state resources to support these needs. Locally, we’ll continue working with the city council, the school board, planning and zoning and other stakeholders to ensure Mountain Home is ready not just for the base’s growth but for the lasting benefits it can bring to all of us.

Growth is coming. Together, we can ensure it makes Mountain Home stronger.

Respectfully,

– Connie Clark, president,

Mountain Home Military Affairs Committee