By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Commissioners court members have authorized grant applications for two projects to benefit
Laughlin Air Force Base.
During their final meeting of 2025, held Wednesday, Dec. 30, commissioners court members
unanimously authorized County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. to submit applications for two
Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grants (DEAAG).
DEAAGs are administered through the office of the Texas Governor through the Texas Military
Preparedness Commission.
The first grant application approved by the court is for $5 million, and the second grant
application is for $985,000.
The $5 million grant would assist Laughlin Air Force Base in modernizing the base’s airfield
lighting system which, according to the grant application, dates from 1968. The grant would
assist the base in converting the decades-old lighting system to current Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) codes.
According to the grant application, “The total project scope upgrades lights on taxiways,
runways, thresholds, edges and approach to LEDs; adds capabilities for night-vision goggles and
pilot-controlled lighting and illuminates five signs for the controlled movement area. Construction includes trenching, conduit upgrades, wiring, commissioning and new transformers
supporting the airfield lighting.”
The application notes, “Modernizing the airfield lighting system allows for the 47 th Flying
Training Wing to better execute its flying training syllabus and accommodates future training
missions.”
The application notes modernizing the base’s airfield lighting system would take at least a year.
After Owens read the heading of the agenda item dealing with the DEAAG application for the
airfield lighting, Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez made a motion to authorize the
county judge to sign the application, with Commissioner Pct. 1 Kerr Wardlaw giving the second.
Vazquez’s motion was unanimously approved.
The second item on the court’s agenda dealt with authorizing Owens to sign a DEAAG
application for $985,000 to help pay for the construction of a tactical aircrew fitness complex on
the base.
According to the grant application, “This project will provide a permanent space for
Comprehensive Readiness for Aircrew Flying Training (CRAFT) and solve part of the 47 th
Flying Training Wing’s real estate issue, especially when the new T-7A aircraft comes online
with new squadrons. As the throughput of student pilots at Laughlin AFB increases in 2026, it is
paramount that this project is complete to ensure the 47 FTW meets the Air Force’s overall
training goals and critical pilot end strength of 1,500 per year.”
According to the application, construction of the aircrew fitness center is expected to take at least
one year.
After Owens read the heading of the agenda item, Vazquez again made the motion to approve,
with Wardlaw again giving the second.
This motion, too, was passed unanimously.
After the meeting, Owens said the county has applied for both grants before and was denied. He
said the city, too, has applied for both grants previously and was also denied.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
