Colonel John Stripling, deputy commander of the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, told the Legislative Veterans and Military Affairs Committee that Holloman is a heavy training hub for both F‑16 fighter pilots and MQ‑9 (Reaper) aircrew and that the base’s mission and size create local workforce and family-service stresses.
"We are currently a training base," Stripling said, and described Holloman as one of the largest F‑16 and MQ‑9 training locations in the United States, with about 81 F‑16 aircraft and roughly 50 sorties per day in normal operations and more than 450 MQ‑9 aircrew trained per year through formal training units managed by the wing.
Stripling and public‑affairs staff outlined Holloman’s broader footprint — roughly 14,000 buildings, a large war‑reserve material stockpile and long runways — and told lawmakers the base contributes hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the regional economy and supports about 10,000 military and civilian personnel on base plus additional retirees and reservists.
But committee members and base leaders also discussed operational challenges that affect retention and family life. Stripling said the base’s Child Development Center has a wait list he updated to about 148 children and that hiring freezes and COVID‑era staffing shortfalls have left the base and the local community short of child‑care capacity. "Even if you throw all the money in the world, sometimes it's just hard to get childcare in the area," he said.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about access to specialty medical care (much of it routed to El Paso, about 45–60 minutes away) and the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). Stripling said EFMP limitations can affect whether assigned airmen can live with dependents during long training tours: F‑16 follow‑on training is programmed for eight months but often runs 13–14 months, crossing the 179‑day permanent change of station (PCS) threshold and creating hardship where family medical needs are not locally supportable.
School quality and availability were another issue during the hearing. Stripling said base elementary and middle schools are strong but that many families feel compelled to live on base to access higher‑performing schools and that base housing capacity is therefore stressed. Legislators and the colonel also discussed recruitment and retention impacts from rural location and regional amenities.
Stripling described international and joint partnerships at Holloman — including Italian and upcoming Netherlands MQ‑9 instructors and a Marine Corps formal training unit — and highlighted test and evaluation resources such as the 704th Test Group and the high‑speed test track. He also noted efforts to expand testing capabilities and a new DOD STARBASE program for local fifth‑graders.
Senators and representatives asked the base about the status of ROTC detachments, EFMP rejection rates and collaboration with the New Mexico Air National Guard. Stripling said ROTC detachments and cadre remain at NMSU; command responsibilities are shared with UTEP but detachments themselves are not being consolidated physically at this time. He said he would follow up with specific EFMP and Air National Guard conversation details on request.
Base leaders closed by thanking the legislature for a state child‑care subsidy that has helped and by noting that Holloman’s mission is expanding in some test and training areas. "The partnership between us and Alamogordo is really something special," Stripling said, urging continued state‑local collaboration on schools, housing and health care.