DAYTON, Ohio — Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is celebrating a very special milestone when it comes to job growth.

What You Need To Know

  • Wright-Patterson Air Force Base employees 38,000 people

  • Working population on base has doubled since 2002

  • WPAFB remains the largest single site employer in Ohio

The base is the employment hub for 38,000 military, civilian and contractor employees.

Congressman Mike Turner spearheaded the celebration with base officials and the Dayton Development Coalition.

Turner says the base has a lot of potential for even more growth with efforts from the Space Force and Naval mission.

“We’re foreseeing Great Power competition. That means our adversaries, China, Russia, even Iran and North Korea, are getting more advanced, more sophisticated. That means we have to do more, and almost all innovation begins right here at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where it’s a defensive system or a capability that gives us that advantage on the battlefields of tomorrow. It starts right here at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” Turner said.

Wright-Patterson AFB has doubled in size since 2002.

It remains the largest single site employer in Ohio.