DEAR EDITOR:

With both of Ohio’s new U.S. senators — Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted — focused on bringing jobs and innovation to Northeast Ohio, there’s no better time to make a bold proposal: The United States Space Force’s service academy should be built right here in the Valley.

This isn’t just a patriotic pitch — it’s a strategic case. Youngstown already boasts a deep bench in aerospace and defense. The Youngstown Air Reserve Station operates one of the most specialized missions in the U.S. military, and the newly created Aerospace and Defense Innovation Hub is backed by over $60 million in public and private investment. We’re not waiting around — we’re already building the future.

Locating the Space Force Academy in Youngstown would do more than train cadets. It would anchor a national-security ecosystem in a region that knows how to work, make and lead. It would draw top minds to our universities, inspire a new generation of public servants and remind the country that America runs on the heart and hard work of communities like ours.

A service academy is a once-in-a-century investment. Let’s make the case — and let’s make it here.

TIM ROSENBERGER

Niles