OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – The Aerospace Caucus strives to be the voice of Oklahoma’s aerospace and defense industry in the State Legislature, bringing attention to needs both big and small.
Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, launched the Aerospace Caucus in 2018.
“Previously, there hadn’t been a lot of people at the State Capitol talking about aerospace and aviation as an industry,” Pugh said.
Pugh was a U.S. Air Force officer. It was that experience in aviation which prompted the Aeronautics Commission to approach him about starting the Aerospace Caucus, which would be the first of its kind in the country at the state legislative level.
Aerospace and defense is the second largest and fastest growing industry in Oklahoma.
The Aerospace Caucus is, naturally, focused on many aspects of Oklahoma’s aerospace industry, including its military infrastructure and commercial, private and civil aviation.
“But it’s also meant to be fun,” Pugh said.
Aerospace Caucus members have been taken on flights in various aircraft and toured Tinker Air Force Base, among other activities that familiarize them with the many facets and offerings of the state’s aerospace industry.
“There’s a serious business aspect to this, understanding the industry and the impact it has on our economy. But I know that legislators are always pulled in a lot directions and pressed for time in any given day, and so I didn’t just want it to be one more thing they had to do. I also wanted it to be fun and enjoyable.”
Pugh said he sees the aerospace industry as fun.
“It’s a very cool industry. You think about space, military, aviation and the history of flight and Oklahoma’s rich history as part of that story. So, I wanted all of those aspects of our industry to be brought together through this caucus,” Pugh said.
The Aerospace Caucus was created at a time when policymakers were not intentionally talking about the aerospace industry and the support it needed to grow its economy, Pugh said.
“There’s always been a focus on our military infrastructure and the bases and protecting them from any sort of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure), where the Department of Defense would look at bases eligible to be closed. We’ve done a really good job historically working with the federal delegation, ensuring that those bases are protected in those discussions,” Pugh said. “But we wanted to go further than that. We wanted to talk about policies that support the companies doing work at Tinker or the civilian workforce that powers a lot of that economic engine.”
The caucus also brought attention to military families, specifically the needs of the spouses and children of Air Force members who are deployed overseas.
“From a policy perspective, we want them to have a great experience because, ultimately, we want those veterans to stay here when they get out of the military, whether it be because they separated or retired,” Pugh said.
Those former Air Force members can become vital parts of Oklahoma’s private aerospace industry.
“That is a great part of the workforce pipeline that feeds our aerospace and aviation industry. It’s not just pilots. We’re talking jet mechanics and logisticians and engineers and financial analysts and accountants and supply chain experts. The industry is diverse – cyber security and coders and programmers – the industry is very diverse,” Pugh said. “It’s not just the folks who sit in the pointy end of an airplane. It’s this whole workforce system that helps our bases be successful, that helps the companies that support the military be successful.
Parts of Oklahoma may not have a military presence, but they have aerospace- and aviation-focused companies that have needs and stories of their own.
“Those companies want to be able to connect with their legislators and talk about their success stories,” Pugh said. “There’s a lot of little civil aviation airports scattered throughout the state. And so probably every legislator in the state has some connection to aerospace, whether they know it or not.”
The caucus works to connect legislators to private pilot organizations and small airports and aerospace businesses in their community that are hoping to grow.
“We’ve touched all facets of aerospace and aviation. Obviously, when you think about aerospace, you think about the big airplanes and you think about the military, but there’s so many other parts of it. And part of the caucus’ existence was to socialize all the other cool things going on in our industry.”
