At Luke Air Force Base, home to the largest fighter wing in the world, the roar of F-35s is backed by a quieter force on the ground: a civilian nonprofit that has spent decades closing the gaps the U.S. Air Force cannot legally or financially fill on its own.
Fighter Country Foundation, a Phoenix-area nonprofit, began as an effort to help keep the base open and has evolved into a sprawling network of programs, services and even construction projects aimed at improving quality of life for airmen and their families.
“Fighter Country Foundation is a nonprofit that was established to first and foremost protect Luke Air Force Base and ensure that its mission stays, and it stays open,” said Ron Sites, president and CEO. “Over the years, it's evolved from mission sustainability to creating programs and services that support the military members and their families … even the construction of new facilities on an active-duty military installation.”
The Air Force is charged with executing the mission, but there are limits on what it can do for airmen outside that mission-critical lane. That is where Fighter Country steps in.
“The Air Force takes care of their people; they just [have] gaps in stuff that's non-mission critical,” said Danny Ortega, director of operations. “So, we come in and try to find those things that are mostly family related, readiness and working with airmen … just really trying to create the morale and well-being for this organization and for the base.”
This year alone, the foundation is backing more than 70 programs, from food pantry and dorm resiliency initiatives to marriage retreats and support for the Luke Spouses Club, which runs the base’s Airman’s Attic, where airmen can get free gently used household items, and clothing. The programs target single airmen in the dorms, young families, single parents and others who often feel the strain of military life.
One of the foundation’s longest-running efforts is the dorm dweller holiday party, created after a suicide in the dorms during the holiday season nearly two decades ago.
“We needed to create some sort of positive distraction for these 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds who are away from home,” Sites said. The first event drew about 100 residents with help from local partners providing door prizes and gaming tournaments. Today, the effort has expanded into a holiday party, spring fling and summer bash. The most recent event drew more than half of the dorm population and about $14,000 in door prizes, according to Sites.
“The purpose is just to create a nice positive distraction during what could be a tough time for a lot of these young men and women,” he said.
Not all projects begin with a formal proposal. Some grow out of simple conversations.
Ortega recalled one board member asking young airmen what dorm life was like. The airmen said they wished they could barbecue together more easily, but restrictions on charcoal grills and lighter fluid made that difficult.
“So, we kind of said, oh, it's an interesting idea,” Ortega said. Working with base leadership, Fighter Country funded and installed high-end gas grills around the dorms, giving airmen a safe, sustainable way to gather outside and ease isolation.
Other efforts have been far more ambitious.
Letters covering the wall of the foundation’s office represent formal approvals from the Air Force for projects ranging from renovating the fire department, flight line kitchen, chapel and child development center to remodeling toddler playrooms and staff break rooms. In all, the group has completed nearly 20 renovation projects on base.
Most recently, the foundation cut the ribbon on its first full new-construction project: a 7,000-square-foot Honor Guard Training Facility.
Most residents know the honor guard from ceremonial appearances at sporting events, community gatherings, retirements and promotions. What they rarely see is the unit’s primary mission: supporting more than 1,100 military funerals each year across a 57,000-square-mile area, including Flagstaff.
Their previous headquarters was small, cramped and forced them to train outside even in triple-digit heat.
“It really does honor those that honor the community,” Ortega said of the new facility, which he called a “labor of love” and the project he is most proud of. “If there was a way for the community to give back to the local Air Force, it was really figuring out how to create a proper facility for them to train and do what they do.”
Sites said his proudest moment remains the foundation’s first major capital project: renovating the base fire department.
“When we put together that legal package, and we submitted it to the Department of the Air Force, they almost paused,” he said. “They called, and they said, ‘What do you guys want?’ [We said] we don't want anything. ‘Well, why are you doing this?’ Because we want to help.”
He described it as a “purely altruistic play” the Air Force had never seen: a civilian nonprofit offering to invest in the capital side of a military installation with no expectation of return.
“It proved to the community that we can do it, it proved to the military that we could do it, and that led to all those other projects,” Sites said.
Fighter Country’s roots in the Honorary Commander Program at Luke have helped forge deep ties to the Greater Phoenix business and civic community.
Individuals from the area are selected for a two-year honorary commander rotation, pairing them with base leaders and offering an inside look at operations, missions and airmen. Many emerge looking for an ongoing role.
After that program, the foundation created the Blue Blazers, an alumni group for those who want to stay engaged. Today, Fighter Country’s board includes 20 directors, supported by five staff members and about 150 Blue Blazers who volunteer, raise money and advocate for the base.
They are mostly civilians; many have never served in uniform.
“We really focus on the civilian population,” Sites said, citing concerns about conflicts of interest if active-duty members directed foundation funds. “I never served; Danny never served. We both went through that honorary commander program … We got the Kool-Aid stuck in our veins. Fighter Country Foundation is a place for those individuals to land.”
The organization’s work is powered entirely by non-federal funding — donations from individuals, businesses, and foundations. Support ranges from modest personal contributions to major corporate gifts and in-kind aid.
Ortega cited companies such as Gatorade, PepsiCo and Shamrock Foods, along with large construction and service firms, that have stepped in after seeing airmen work in harsh conditions, sometimes on “140-degree ramp temperature.”
“It’s not a big sell,” Ortega said. “They see it and they go, we want to be part of that.”
For some, that may mean an online donation at fightercountry.org. For others, it’s as simple as choosing an Arizona “Sound of Freedom” license plate bearing an F-35 when renewing a vehicle registration. A portion of that fee flows to the foundation each year.
For those in the Phoenix area hearing the jets overhead and wondering how to help, the foundation says the path is straightforward: learn about the mission, get involved with civic programs like the honorary commanders, or support the nonprofit directly.
“There’s lots of ways to get educated and create that greater awareness,” Sites said. “We get a chance to really fulfill a lot of those gaps that people don’t even realize exist.”
