U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were joined last week by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), for a tour of Robins Air Force Base near Warner Robins to learn about why the base is so important to Central Georgia’s economy, and why it will be so important to the U.S. Military’s plans for the future of international conflict.
Robins was built in 1941 during World War II, named in honor of Brig Gen Augustine Warner Robins, the Air Force’s “father of logistics.” And while it has hosted various fighter wings and Air Service Commands over the past 80 years, the future of the Air Force, according to Reed, the chair of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, “is going to be decided in the electronic domain.”
That means STEM, tech, coding and artificial intelligence. It also means jobs, and good ones, for Central Georgia as it positions itself as a key tech hub in the Southeast.
“This means jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs in tech and the area of STEM,” Warnock said at the joint press conference following the tour.
“There were a group of scientists from MIT who talked about, ‘Well, what are the cities that are well positioned to be these regional tech hubs?’ Well, Warner Robins is on the list.”
The base employs more than 25,000 civilian, contractor, and military members as part of the largest single industrial complex in the state. But as military bases are scaled down or relocated entirely in some parts of the country as the needs of modern warfare evolve, Georgia legislators are working to make sure Robins’ role is a key one moving forward.
“We’re continuing to make significant investments — which we would not do if there’s not a future for the facility.” Reed said, assuring those in attendance that Robins is here to stay.
