The US Air Force Is Setting Aside Land For A 'First-Of-Its-Kind' $38 Million Facility

The U.S military is initiating a host of domestic land projects. Ranging from new drone testing facilities to data centers, many of these projects hope to prepare the country for the changing defense landscape. One U.S. Air Force development looks to cultivate the next generation of leaders in these spaces, as a 16-acre plot at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, is now reserved to build a first-of-its-kind educational facility. Dubbed the STEM Talent Development Complex, the project will deliver high-end STEM education for local grade-schoolers through a 90,750 square-foot complex that'll include research labs, classrooms, community areas, dorms, and event spaces. According to the project's leaders, the massive facility near the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will aim to deliver the next generation of scientists, technicians, and engineers.

Vince Russo, President of Air Camp, one of the future tenants of the facility, wrote in a press release that the project hopes to "become a national icon for how STEM talent development is conducted." Joe Sciabica, chair of the building committee, believes the center will prepare students for jobs across a range of sectors, ranging from healthcare and education to engineering and manufacturing. (via WYSO) Long-term, project planners also hope such projects will boost the local economy, creating a highly skilled workforce capable of incentivizing government and private sector projects to flock to the region (via Dayton Daily News).

As it stands, the Air Force has signed its out-grant license, committing the branch to allocating the 16-acre plot of land for the project. The STEM Talent Development Complex aims to be completed by 2031. Following the groundbreaking ceremony, the complex will have a 50-year, no-cost lease.

Dayton's lawmakers, educators, and business community hope that the new STEM Talent Development Complex will unite diverse local educational groups to ingratiate STEM training into students' lives at a young age. The project is the brain child of six local action groups, which range from educational to economic. These organizations, many of which are signed on as future tenants, include Dayton Ohio STEM (DO STEM), a nonprofit that helps bridge the gap between students and STEM opportunities, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's Educational Outreach Office, Air Camp Inc., the WPAFB Educational Outreach Program, the Montgomery County Educational Service Center, and the Strategic Ohio Council on Higher Education.

According to Joe Sciabica, who's also the executive director of the Employers' Workforce Coalition, a Dayton-area interest group involved with the project, "The idea is, if we could bring those pieces together under one roof, the sum pieces of the parts could be more than anyone could do by themselves." According to project leaders, the center focuses on giving local grade-schoolers hands-on experience in advanced engineering, science, mathematics, technology, and aerospace projects.

As Jessica Short, CEO of DO STEM, said at the agreement "We need to start at the earliest age, at three years old. They need to see themselves with a STEM identity. They're engineers. They're problem solvers. They're working toward these types of critical technologies and skills that need to happen in order to be successful in these STEM fields later in the future" (via WYSO).

The complex is a major step for local educators, lawmakers, and employers looking to boost the region's STEM-focused workforce. At the signing, Joe Sciabica noted the project could create a "STEM pipeline that feeds" the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, encouraging the Air Force to bring more missions to the base. Currently, Wright-Patterson hosts several Air Force missions, including the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. 

According to Jeff Hoagland, President of the Dayton Development Coalition, developing this STEM-focused work force is also critical to attracting private investment in the region. (via Dayton Daily News). Such investments could be critical, as the U.S. government looks to encourage companies like Apple to increase U.S. production. Building an advanced workforce is essential, as students face an employment landscape increasingly threatened by AI and autonomous robotics, particularly targeting lower-level white collar and manufacturing jobs.

Building the facility will be no easy task, its partners warn. On the docket for years,  the center will undergo a fundraising process before breaking ground. Project leaders will reportedly look to combine federal, state, and philanthropic funding to construct the new facility. Crowd sourcing for the new center will be conducted through the Dayton Foundation, looking to take pledges to contribute to the construction. The foundation, according to Air Camp President Vincent Russo, will "hold the money" in a charitable trust before transferring it to the project upon its groundbreaking. Organizers hope to raise between $38 and $40 million for the project. As Russo wrote in a press release, "the idea is to generate a large number of donors, with any amount they wish to donate, as a strong statement that the community is supportive of our efforts."