Want new fighter jets flying out of Fresno airport? How to sound off on military plans

The National Guard has scheduled three public meetings as part of an environmental impact statement to consider the possible future assignment of F15-EX and F-35A squadrons at the 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno.

The Guard has proposed to beddown one FA-15EX squadron at two of three possible locations across the country — the Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Mass.; Fresno National Air Guard Base at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Naval Air Station Reserve Base in New Orleans in Belle Chasse, La. The bases are also under consideration as a potential location for the F-35A squadron, along with Naval Air Station Lemoore, authorities said in a news release.

The environmental impact statement will assess the consequences of the four bases in support of operations. Areas to be analyzed include noise, biological resources, cultural resources, soils and geology, water resources, infrastructure and transportation, land use, hazardous materials and wastes, health and safety and air quality.

The beddowns would replace the F-15 C/D aircraft at the locations where they are currently based, and those existing aircraft would be retired due to their age and resulting maintenance costs.

The public meetings are scheduled for Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Piccadilly Hotel on East McKinley Avenue near the Fresno airport and on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Portuguese Hall on Champion Street in Lemoore. A virtual meeting will be held Thursday, Aug. 25, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. to discuss Fresno and Lemoore as locations.

Instructions to join the virtual meeting will be posted at angf15ex-f35a-eis.com.

The public may submit comments regarding the proposed actions through Sept. 2. Additional information about the EIS process and associated actions are available at the same link.