Ebbing Air National Guard Base sits adjacent to Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and has been home to the 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard since 1953. Over the decades, the base has flown the F-4 Phantom II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Thunderbolt II before shifting toward MQ-9 Reaper, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and targeting missions. In recent years, Ebbing became the Air Force's international F-35 pilot training center under the Foreign Military Sales program, training pilots and maintenance personnel from allied nations and driving new construction of hangars, flight-line facilities, and support infrastructure alongside decades of older buildings.
As an active military aviation installation since 1953, Ebbing has maintained Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting capabilities throughout its history, training firefighters to respond to aircraft crashes and aviation fuel fires. For many years, this training relied on AFFF as the standard suppression agent for Class B fuel fires, and that mission hasn't slowed down: recent Arkansas National Guard reports describe hands-on aircraft rescue training conducted with visiting Air Force aircraft to prepare firefighters for emergencies tied to the base's growing F-35 program.
Training exercises included:
- aircraft crash rescue simulations
- live-fire drills
- aviation fuel fire suppression exercises
- foam application training
- emergency response exercises
- fire suppression equipment testing
Firefighters handled AFFF directly through:
- mixing foam concentrate
- operating hoses during live-fire exercises
- extinguishing simulated aviation fuel fires
- testing foam proportioning systems
- cleaning firefighting vehicles and equipment
- maintaining foam storage and delivery systems
- repeating ARFF certification exercises
Personnel most likely to have faced this exposure include:
- Air National Guard Fire Protection Specialist
- Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting crew member
- firefighter trainee going through initial certification
- fire instructor
- civilian firefighter assigned to the base
- technician responsible for firefighting vehicle and foam system upkeep
PFAS chemicals in legacy AFFF have been associated with kidney cancer and testicular cancer among firefighters with this kind of sustained exposure. If you trained or served as a firefighter at Ebbing Air National Guard Bae and were later diagnosed with one of these cancers, that history may support a claim.
Ebbing was established in the early 1950s, when asbestos was a standard component of military construction for its durability, insulating properties, and resistance to heat and fire. Maintenance, renovation, or demolition of the base's original buildings could release asbestos fibers into the air, and materials from this era commonly included:
- pipe insulation
- boiler insulation
- steam distribution system components
- HVAC insulation
- roofing materials
- vinyl floor tile
- adhesive
- ceiling tile
- fireproof wallboard
- gasket and packing material
Personnel most likely to have disturbed these materials while maintaining older buildings and mechanical systems include:
- civil engineer
- electrician
- plumber
- HVAC mechanic
- boiler technician
- welder
- aircraft facility maintenance worker
- civilian contractor
For veterans and civilian workers who spent time in Ebbing Air National Guard Base's older facilities, mesothelioma and lung cancer remain the two most significant health risks tied to that exposure. These illnesses can take decades, sometimes as long as 50 years, to appear after the initial exposure, so a recent diagnosis may trace back to work done at the base long ago. Our team can help you determine whether that connection makes you eligible to file a claim.