D-M strengthens ties with Tucson community

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Camilla Elizeu
  • 355 Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The 355th Fighter Wing and 55th Electronic Combat Group leadership signed four memorandums of agreements with Tucson officials on Dec. 14.

The agreements are intended to increase education, foreign language and communication collaborations between the base and the local community.

The Educational Partnership agreements will establish on-base internship opportunities for students of the University of Arizona and Pima Community College.

"This optimizes resources, it is not only the money integration, it is the intellectual capital," Col James Meger, the 355 Fighter Wing commander said. "When I look at University of Arizona, when I look at Pima Community College, bringing that intellectual capital in and continuing to grow and expand my Airmen and students' pool together, it is perfect."

The 55th Electronic Combat Group and the University of Arizona signed a Foreign Language Skills Partnership that will improve and maintain an existing foreign language skills project and mentor foreign language students with the University of Arizona.

"Pima County and Tucson has, for many years, developed a very sophisticated system of communication," said Mayor Jonathan Rothchild, City of Tucson. "Today we made an agreement to bring Davis-Monthan into that system."

The Emergency Response Communication Interoperability Partnership will increase communication between first responders from D-M and local community in the event of a significant emergency requiring joint response.

"This is really important," Meger said "It is the integration of the partnership between the community and the military."