On Friday, October 10, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Qatari counterpart, Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, announced that the US will allow Qatar to stand up an Air Force training squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. The new facility will enable Qatar to train its F-15QA pilots, who will train alongside USAF airmen.
The F-15QA is one of the most advanced versions of the venerable F-15 and is very similar in capability to the USAF’s F-15EX Eagle II, one of the service’s newest fighter aircraft. They aren't your daddy’s Eagle. Qatar has already taken delivery of 36 F-15QAs, with 12 more on order.
During the announcement at the Pentagon, Hegseth said,
“The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability … It’s just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, Your Excellency, that you can count on us.”
Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the US to guarantee the security of Qatar. This comes as a significant commitment to a non-NATO Arab ally. Some have suggested that the Mountain Home facility deal is a way to mend fences after Israel bombed Qatar as part of an operation against Hamas officials living in Doha. However, the facility agreement has been in the works since then-President Biden first announced it in 2022.
Surprising Backlash Arises
Criticism of the new Qatari training arrangement has come from some conservative commentators, with several expressing concerns about the decision.
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist under President Trump, told Newsweek that “there should never be a military base of a foreign power on the sacred soil of America.”
Commentator Laura Loomer also voiced opposition on X, writing,
“Never thought I'd see Republicans give Muslims from Qatar a MILITARY BASE on US soil so they can murder Americans.”
Of course, the US will not build a “new base” for the Qataris under the deal. They will simply stand up a training squadron that will be funded by Qatar under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement related to the procurement of the F-15QA aircraft.
Noah Rothman, a writer for the conservative-leaning The National Review, wrote on X,
“You could rattle off all the problems/risks we're inviting easily. But I have no idea what the steelman case for this would be? I'm sure we don't need to import any more Qatari covert assets into this country.”
The reality is that Qatar has long been an ally of the US during its battle against radical Islamic terrorism since the beginning of the Global War on Terror after the 9/11 attacks. In fact, Qatar hosts the largest US base in the Middle East at Al Udeid Air Base just outside of Doha. Al Udeid is also the home base for Qatar’s F-15QA aircraft.
Some critics have questioned why the US would even allow foreign militaries to build facilities and train their personnel on US soil. Boy, are they in for a surprise. Establishing the Qatari squadron at Mountain Home AFB isn’t unprecedented.
Germans in New Mexico
Germany has the largest permanent presence of military personnel on US soil. The German Armed Forces Command, located in Reston, Virginia, serves as the administrative and logistical hub for all German military activity in the US and Canada, such as coordinating pilot training and running Germany’s Liaison Office for Defense Materiel USA/Canada.
The Reston office supports the approximately 1,000 German soldiers based or deployed in the US, most of them at Holloman AFB, New Mexico.
The German Air Force – Die Luftwaffe – has been training its aircrews in the United States since 1958. This training took place on various bases throughout the states before it was moved from Cannon AFB to Holloman Air Force Base, NM, in 1992. The mission of the German Air Force Flying Training Center at Holloman AFB is to train Panavia Tornado fighter aircrew.
NATO in Texas
Fourteen North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations have been training their prospective pilots at Sheppard AFB, Texas, since 1981. The program is called the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT), and it’s a pretty big deal.
A small number of prospective USAF pilots are hand-selected to attend ENJJPT every year. Upon graduation from the program’s 55-week course, pilots undergo country-specific training in either their home countries or at other bases in the US.
Dutch pilots, for example, have been training on the F-16 Falcon fighter aircraft for more than three decades at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona and now utilize Arizona’s Luke AFB to train on the newer F-35A Lightning II aircraft. The British also train some of their fighter aircrew and unmanned aerial system operators on USAF bases.
Singaporeans in Idaho
NATO nations aren’t the only ones that train some of their pilots in the US.
Singaporean airmen are stationed at Mountain Home AFB as part of the 428th Fighter Squadron, an integrated training unit.
Under a program called Peace Carvin V, Singaporean pilots train and qualify on the F-15 fighter aircraft at the base alongside their USAF counterparts.
Singapore currently flies 40 F-15SG fighter aircraft, a variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle, and is on contract to procure 20 F-35 fourth-generation fighter aircraft.
Much More Than That
Under the guidance of the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation (AFSAC) Directorate, the service manages FMS for the USAF, within which training is a key element.
While a specific, public number of foreign personnel trained through AFSAC is not available, it is known that AFSAC currently works with 116 countries and NATO on various FMS programs. And this is just for the USAF.
The other services have similar arrangements with foreign militaries. Ultimately, a significant number of foreign military members receive training on US soil. The opportunity to train in the US makes the procurement of military hardware from the US defense industry more attractive.
The bottom line is that the announced Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at Mountain Home AFB will not be unique. It’s been done before, and if the US defense industry gets its wish, it will happen again with other FMS customers.
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