In the News

U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington brought House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry to Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene on Thursday. “With West Texas competing to base the next generation of bombers, having our neighbor and Chairman to the north come to town was a big deal,” Arrington, a Lubbock Republican whose U.S. House District 19 also covers Abilene, said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “With all the demands on the chairman to travel to military installations around the world, I am deeply grateful to Congressman Thornberry for coming to Dyess. I was proud to share with him our outstanding airmen and unique global strike capabilities at Dyess, as well as the nationally recognized support from the people of Abilene,” Arrington and Thornberry, R-Clarendon, received a mission brief, toured a B-1B Lancer and C-130J Hercules and conducted a news conference. Thornberry said there’s never been a time where the missions of Dyess are more important to the nation’s security than right now. “If you think about the missions for these two airplanes that are central to our security and are gonna be central for years to come, Dyess is more important — the missions of Dyess and the people of Dyess — are more important now than they’ve ever been,” Thornberry said. “You talk with some of these outstanding men and women standing around us today, it just reinforces our determination (as members of Congress) to make sure we do our job and make sure they have everything they need when they’re called upon.”