OP-ED | WPAFB Doubles Employment

VIEW ARTICLE AS FEATURED IN DAYTON DAILY NEWS

Circa 2002, I was working as a legislative aid in Columbus to State Representative Jon Husted. Bob Taft was serving as Ohio Governor, and Mike Turner was the Mayor of Dayton. In 2002, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was the largest single-site employer in the State of Ohio with 19,000 employees. Twenty-two years later and through a multitude of policy, economic development and growth strategies, Wright Patterson Air Force Base has doubled employment and has again solidified the title of Ohio’s largest single-site employer. Topping 38,000 employees on base and almost the same number of employees off base that are aligned to WPAFB, we now have over 80,000 jobs directly connected to this economic powerhouse. 

Through the strategic efforts from our partner organization the Dayton Development Coalition, elected officials and our collective business community, we are able to celebrate the unprecedented growth of WPAFB. This growth comes from a collective effort focused on a single mission to support and grow a driving force of our economy. Over the years, there have been numerous wins and accomplishments that have supported this growth and jumpstarted private sector investment. The Dayton Development Coalition launched a strategic initiative to protect WPAFB from a BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure). Congressman Mike Turner made supporting WPAFB his mission in Congress and has earned strategic positions on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee and now as the Chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. In 2018, the chamber hosted gubernatorial candidates Mike DeWine and Richard Cordray and lobbied both candidates to create a sr. military advisor position if elected. Governor DeWine created this position in 2019. In 2007, the Ohio Speaker of the House Jon Husted championed the passage of legislation that was drafted by the military advocacy committee of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, which eliminated the state income tax on military pensions in Ohio. And in 2020, the local state legislative delegation supported and passed legislation from the business community that allows active duty military and their dependents to get in-state college tuition in Ohio immediately.

There have been many initiatives like these that are part of a systematic and organized strategy to position the Dayton area as the hub of aerospace and national defense, and the ensure that Ohio is the most military and veteran friendly state in the nation. These efforts take time to develop and grow; they are successful today, because the community made a commitment to WPAFB decades ago. Perseverance results in success for our community.  We stand firm in our commitment to support Wright Patterson AFB, and the growth it drives for our community into the future.

Chris Kershner
President & CEO
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce