104th Fighter Wing hosts MASS Task Force to boost strategic vision

BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Westfield, Mass. — The 104th Fighter Wing recently hosted Massachusetts State Government Officials, Massachusetts National Guard Assistant Adjutant General, Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport Director, and key representatives from the Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force (MASS-TF) during a base visit to discuss strategic F-35A Lightning II conversion efforts and base and community infrastructure projects, at Barnes Air National Guard Base, October 13, 2026.

Created in 2012, the MASS Task Force is a state-level committee housed within the office of the Governor and is supported by MassDevelopment, MassTech, and the Massachusetts National Guard, with a focus on defense related community support through enhancing, supporting and securing economic investments for the six federal and state military installations in Massachusetts to ensure the installations remain highly proficient and economically competitive.

Collaborating with MASS-TF provides critical support to military installations to foster future infrastructure projects to garnish community support and build economic growth.

Agency representatives attending the visit included Navjeet Bal, MassDevelopment president and CEO, Dave Abdoo, MassDevelopment Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff, Anne Marie Dowd, MassDevelopment Director of the Military and Defense Sector Initiative, Environmental Services and Policy, Adam Freudberg, MASS-TF Executive Director and Governor’s Liaison to Military Installations, and Kathleen Ferguson, Principal at The Roosevelt Group, consultants to the MASS-TF. Additional attendees included U.S. Army Colonel Jason Oberton, Assistant Adjutant General for Homeland Security, Policy, and Regulation, Massachusetts National Guard, Kristen Elechko, Director of the Governor’s Western Massachusetts Office, Joseph Downing, Investment Liaison from MassTech, and Daniel Shearer, Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport Manager.

During the visit, Col. Oberton explained that this sustained partnership and collaboration is critical to strengthening future operations.

“The 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base is a critical component of the Nation’s homeland defense. This collaboration among state leadership, MassDevelopment, the MASS-TF, and local entities underscores the importance of sustained partnerships among state, federal, military, and civilian stakeholders,” said Col. Jason Oberton. “Together, we can advance a shared strategy and vision for our installations that support the priorities of the Commonwealth and the Nation. Barnes Air National Guard Base’s value is further amplified by its joint military-civilian airfield, and continued collaboration is essential to sustaining and strengthening that capability into the future.”

Freudberg, who plays a critical role in supporting Massachusetts military installations, outlined the overall intent of the visit through how the MASS-TF would be able to support the 104FW mission.

“Our goals for this visit are to hear directly from installation leadership about your mission, current priorities and challenges, and opportunities where the Commonwealth or DoW may be able to provide assistance to best support those goals,” said Freudberg. “We are especially proud and motivated to be here at this exciting time for the 104th’s conversion to the F-35s. The MASS-TF played a critical supporting role to the 104th and MA National Guard’s multi-year efforts to secure this new mission. MASS-TF has facilitated the investment of more than $35 million in recent years, and was excited to see the new mission in action, while supporting jobs and economic growth across Western Massachusetts.”

During the visit, U.S. Air Force Colonel Michael ‘Shot’ Glass, 104th Fighter Wing Commander, and U.S. Air Force Maj. Brian ‘Brass’ Burke, 104th Fighter Wing conversion officer, each gave presentations that provided critical updates to the attendees on the Wing’s ongoing conversion efforts and infrastructure projects, outlining recent successes and current challenges where MASS-TF could potentially support to mitigate risk.

A top wing priority, as outlined by Maj. Burke, is the continued effort to secure the F-35 simulators, which has recently incurred an increase in cost over the past five years due to raising Massachusetts prices for electrical and HVAC demands.

When speaking on the future F-35 simulators, Col. Glass emphasized that they would provide unmatched training opportunities for pilots, and would also drive other nearby military installations flying the F-35 to utilize the simulators at Barnes due to their superior innovations.

“With the type of simulators that we would be getting, it would put us on the leading edge of a generational change in the F-35 community,” said Glass.

Shearer, who has recently spearheaded multiple projects to help improve the airport infrastructure for both the civilian airport and 104th Fighter Wing operations with the F-35A Lightning II, explained the importance of MASS-TF’s agency roles in the 104th Fighter Wing’s ability to accomplish the mission.

“As a municipally owned airport that hosts both Massachusetts Air and Army National Guard units, the project funding provided through the Task Force helps the civilian side of the airport complete infrastructure improvements that are vital to the missions of these Guard units,” said Shearer. “The Task Force's visit provides an opportunity to showcase the recent successes of this partnership, notably the construction of the new 5-acre South De-Arm apron at a cost of nearly $9M, the upgrade of the TACAN antenna, as well as the next Task Force funded project, the construction of a new taxiway entrance to the Air Guard's apron.”

Shearer further illustrated the positive impacts that the MASS-TF has had on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through their assistance in aircraft noise mitigation through recently funding local share cost of the grant-funded Residential Sound Insulation Program (RSIP), ensuring that the local community does not bear the financial burden of mitigating potential aircraft noise.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col Jeremy Dugan, 104th Fighter Wing Mission Support Group commander, was also in attendance, and provided key updates on the progress for ongoing projects and conversion efforts, including the aircraft flow through shelters which are required to protect the F-35 from New England weather, with winter fast-approaching.

Following the briefings, attendees were able to tour the installation to see the physical footprint of discussed projects and see the impressive progress made on multiple projects such as the new airfield sunshades. Guests were then able to get an up-close and personal look at the world’s most capable fighter aircraft in the fifth-generation F-35 through viewing a static display and the awe-inspiring moment of seeing an F-35 takeoff.

Overall, the visit provided MASS-TF with critical updates and successfully aligned leadership and key stakeholders on current progress, paving the way for fostering collaboration to remediate future challenges and ensure the 104th Fighter Wing remains ready to continue their mission of forging combat-ready Airmen prepared to defend our Nation and employ lethal F-35 airpower.

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