The 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno celebrated a special dedication Friday.
The Wing unveiled a new operations building that will allow our national guardsmen to prepare for large-scale missions here at home and overseas.
CBS47's Lemor Abrams shows us how the new facility enhances the guard's capabilities.
Congressman Jim Costa cut the red ribbon, making way for a proud entrance into the 25,000 square foot operations building.
A building $11 Million and 3 years in the making.
The facility is complete with an equipment room...lined with lockers for 32 pilots.
An Intel room...where guardsmen will get prepped to respond if an emergency arises.
And a command center for emergency response in the case of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
Outside, Congressman Costa and Fresno Councilmember Paul Caprioglio got a first look at the new F-15 Fighter Jets.
16 to 22 fighter jets will be ready to race the sky in less than 15 seconds. The jets will check out potential threats over the West Coast and overseas.
"There's only 250 of these airplanes left so we're part of that team. combat and commanders if projected to power overseas-they're going to tap into this resources," said Colonel Clay Garrison.
The wing's commander credits Congressman Costa for putting the facility at the top of the construction budgets.
It's a big deal after severe federal budget cuts.
"Modifying the impacts of sequestration allowed money to come forward.... the commitment was always here to the credit of the US Air Force and Dept. of Defense...to fully get this operational as quickly as we can," said Congressman Jim Costa.