National Guard Looks for a Home at Pangborn Memorial Airport Near East Wenatchee

Apr. 12—EAST WENATCHEE — Fighting fires in the Wenatchee Valley could get a little easier in the near future, as the Washington Army National Guard wants to have a home at Pangborn Memorial Airport.

But having an increased presence in the Wenatchee area also helps fulfill the Guard's mission, according to Col. Adam Iwaszuk, Construction and Facilities Management Office (CFMO) director.

The Guard has an armory on Fifth Street in Wenatchee, which Iwaszuk said got a $5 million upgrade several years ago.

He said he wants to bring the full unit to Pangborn. Jim Kuntz, Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority CEO, said at a recent meeting the port wants the guard there, too.

Iwaszuk said efforts to secure land for the Guard at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane in the last 15 or so years were unsuccessful, so he and others decided to look for another location.

They considered places including Moses Lake, Yakima, and Wenatchee.

"We kept coming back to one at Wenatchee and the Pangborn location, and thinking that is probably the most attractive location and arrangement and opportunity," he said. "It fits with our mission as far as next domestic operations and it fits with our federal mission. ... We can still provide fire fighting support in the North Central Washington area, where historically, a lot of the fires are anyway."

Iwaszuk said he received a positive response at Pangborn and the port authority, and planning began in 2021.

Those include leasing space in the Executive Flight Building at Pangborn, said Kuntz.

The lease would be for 10-12 years while building a large hangar and other buildings on nearby land the Guard will purchase for the eight or so aircraft that will stay at the airport, Iwaszuk said.

The lease could cost $200,000 per year, Iwaszuk said, and the new facilities at Pangborn could be $30 million to $35 million.

But first, the Guard must request money from the state for the lease and to buy land, he said, which he plans to do this fall. He said he's hoping to get approval sometime in April or May 2023 so soldiers can move in around July 1, 2023.

UH-72 Lakota helicopters likely would be the primary aircraft, he said. Also stopping by would be the CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Black Hawk and the C-12 Huron twin-engine turboprop, he said.

Construction could take a decade to begin, he said, because the Guard has to wait for approval and funding.

In the meantime, Iwaszuk has eyes on some acreage.

"We actually looked at four different parcels," he said. "Two of them, which are owned by the port authority, which would be very expensive to us and they probably don't want to sell to us, but they want us there. So they're looking to actually buy property from a local farmer who's got two parcels."

The two parcels are 10 and 14 acres, which Iwaszuk said the port would sell to the Guard.

Having the Guard close would give quicker response times to fires in North Central Washington and save the state Department of Natural Resources, said Kuntz, during a recent meeting. The DNR uses the National Guard and other agencies to help fight wildfires.

The move also will help the economy, as guardsmen would visit restaurants and possibly stay in hotels, he said.

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