By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Vance Development Au-thority will address a “good problem” involving a possible shortage of housing in Enid for additional Air Force student pilots.
A key issue discussed during Wednesday’s VDA meeting was a change in Air Force policy regarding as-signment of student pilots. Mike Cooper, military liaison for the city of Enid, said previously when students completed initial training and were assigned to pilot training it may have been several months before they were sent to their training base, such as Vance Air Force Base.
Starting this year, students will come to Enid immediately and remain until their training starts, he said. That could present a housing problem for Enid, as an additional 150 students come to Enid to await pilot training. Cooper said some will arrive in June and more in July, with the bulk — about 140 — arriving in August.
Jim Henderson, of Enid Property Management, is the VDA real estate representative. He will form a committee with other Enid business representatives to begin identifying housing for Vance students.
“We know what the numbers are and what the housing allowances are, and they will get together and see if there are available facilities and get it to them,” Cooper said.
The properties will be matched with personnel who need them. Cooper said it is a good problem to have.
“People will come sooner than normally, and we will have a committee to work with the housing issue because of their early arrival,” he said.
Cooper called housing a key issue for VDA. Vance perceives there is a housing issue because of the early arrival of student pilots, he said, and the VDA is set up to find housing and notify Vance authorities.
VDA members also discussed an after-BRAC report that shows how Vance sized up against other bases in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission round. Vance is scheduled to grow.
They discussed an air space issue. The Air Force wants restricted air space west of Enid but has been denied by Federal Aviation Administration, Cooper said. The reason Vance wants the restriction is due to a new type of training the base will do involving air-to-air and air-to-ground combat training.
“If you’re making a bomb run, they won’t drop live bombs, but it they simulate what they do flying high and dropping low,” Cooper said. “They need restricted air space. The FAA turned them down, but they are working with (U.S.) Sen. Jim Inhofe and others to get it.”
One way to obtain the restriction could be to designate specific hours and space that will be needed, he said. Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi has restricted air space, Cooper said, but Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas and Vance do not. Pilots normally go to Smoky Hill Air Force Base in Kansas for that type of training, but Cooper said Air Force officials want the training area closer.
