TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Air Force Flight Standards Agency headquarters will move to Tinker Air Force Base next year.
AFFSA Commander Col. Matthew Yetishefsky said the relocation from two facilities near Will Rogers World Airport will reduce leasing costs, among other advantages.
“This will allow our whole organization to be housed under one roof here, which is a huge benefit for us both financially and organizationally,” the commander said.
Officials involved in the two-year effort to find a permanent location held a renovation commencement ceremony Monday at the new location, 5316 South Douglas Blvd.
The more than 200-member agency currently resides in a building on the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center campus and a separate facility at the nearby Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.
Colonel Yetishefsky said the move will bring agency members closer to its Tinker-based logistics support for air traffic control and landing systems while still maintaining cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration. He thanked all the organizations involved in the relocation process, especially the 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineering Directorate.
“The 72nd CE folks were there with us hand in hand, and we would never be at this point in time without their work to bring it all together – the plan, the financing, all those things that are necessary to put us in this building,” the colonel said.
Wilson McWhirter, deputy director of the Air Force Operations, Policies and Standards Directorate, said the agency will occupy about 50,000 square feet of the building.
AFFSA works to optimize efficiency, cooperation and safety worldwide in both civil and military aviation. Agency members focus on universal aviation flight standards, instrument procedures, airspace/air traffic management, airfield operations, and related air traffic control and landing systems equipment. The agency also teaches students chosen worldwide to attend the Air Force Advanced Instruments School.
The $9.5 million renovation, which will also provide new offices for another agency, will begin this spring and is scheduled to end in fall 2018.