With Tyndall Air Force Base slated to lose two squadrons of F-15's in 2010, many are concerned about the base's future.

Congressman Allen Boyd and members of the Bay Defense Alliance met with the Air Force Chief of Staff Tuesday to get some answers.

When General Norton Schwartz visited Tyndall earlier this year, his plans were to pull the F-15's out starting in January, a year earlier than planned. Congressman Boyd has managed to insert language in the House of Representatives Defense Appropriations Bill, blocking that early pullout. This has given Boyd some leverage that's led to the high level talks at the Pentagon.

Tuesday, Boyd, Bay Defense Alliance Chairman Tom Neubauer and several others met with Air Force leaders and are optimistic. They say the Air Force recognizes Tyndall is extremely important, and that Schwartz assured them the base wouldn’t lose any of its other missions.

As for what will replace the F-15's, Schwartz says the F-35 seems unlikely, because it’s a ground-to-air fighter. The ground training ranges north and west of us are already saturated.

But, according to Boyd, getting more F-22's seems to be a more likely possibility.

"There were no promises made, but there were a lot of issues discussed, and one of those was the F-22. One of the things the Air Force is trying to figure out now is that they have a lot fewer F22' than originally planned six to eight years ago, and they have more facilities than they need. They are looking at consolidating those facilities. There are obviously some very serious talks going on relative to that issue.

Boyd's addition to the defense-spending bill could delay the F-15 draw down by as much as six months.