During the past 20 months, I've rolled up my sleeves to support and fight for Holloman Air Force Base and the people of Alamogordo.

I've visited Alamogordo more than 30 times and even opened a congressional office there. I've assisted Alamogordo vets with more than 100 VA cases, pushed pro-veteran legislation in Washington and fought for Holloman, the economic engine of Otero County.

When the Air Force announced it was considering rebasing missions, I knew we had to take the fight for Holloman to the military's brass.

After multiple meetings and forums with the community, this is the message I took to the Pentagon:

• Holloman is a jewel. Send us your missions, your planes and your people. We can and will support them.

• We can't have another "bathtub" of reduced investment at Holloman.

Alamogordo is a small community. A prolonged drop-off in the number of planes at Holloman could irreparably damage its economy.

Last month's announcement Holloman will be receiving two squadrons of F-16s, a plane that will be in the Air Force's arsenal until at least 2030, presents new opportunities for Alamogordo and the future of Holloman.

First, with this new mission Holloman gets more planes, more pilots, more civilian employees and contractors, and a higher paid work force.

Second, the F-16 squadrons will bring a training mission to Alamogordo. A training mission brings more people with more income, keeps our planes and personnel in Otero County instead of being deployed away from home, and provides a steady stream of student pilots. All of them will use Alamogordo hotels, restaurants and small businesses.

The air power workhorses in the current wars are F-16s and RPA drones. They work side by side and support each other in combat, and for the first time the Air Force will have them training together at Holloman, leaving us as the training hub for future war fighting.

Most importantly, our work protected Alamogordo's economy from another economic "bathtub," like the one experienced in 2007 and 2008 as the F-22 slowly replaced the F-117.

Some people argue Holloman would have been better off with the next-generation F-35, but getting assigned the F-35 now could have meant a years-long "bathtub" and economic trouble for Otero County as the new planes trickle off a production line that's been plagued with delays. The transition to F-16s will occur swiftly and without negative economic impact.

The future of Holloman is too important to let trivial election year politics distract us.

I have and will continue working to ensure Department of Defense decisions do not hurt Alamogordo's economy because your jobs are my top priority. And my commitment as your representative is to continue listening to the people of Alamogordo and working hard to support the future of Holloman.

I will fight for additional F-16 training missions and to bed down future F-35 squadrons at Holloman. I will work to continue the development of the remotely piloted aircraft mission, which supports more than 750 personnel and will have up to 1,200 people when the mission is fully manned. And I will continue to invest in Holloman to ensure the base has the capacity to attract more missions, more planes and more people.

Over the last 20 months, I've worked with you and worked hard for Holloman and Otero County. I secured $10 million to build the Holloman fire/crash rescue station, $8 million to build a new Holloman Parallel Taxiway, and $37 million to bed-down the remotely piloted aircraft mission. I've fought for Holloman in countless meetings with military and Congressional leaders and I've returned to Otero County to keep you informed about my work.

I am working to grow Holloman for now and the future. And that's what I'll continue to do as your representative.

Harry Teague is the representative for New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District and is the district's first representative to serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.