WPAFB, Ohio -- Officials said Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is going through one of its biggest expansions in decades.

That means numerous new contracts for companies that meet the base’s needs, and community leaders want to make sure many of those contracts go to local businesses.

At this time, a lot of contracts with the base are going to out-of-state companies, so that means jobs and money are going out-of-state as well.

The goal of a new commission that was just formed will examine how to keep the contracts and to create more jobs in the Dayton region.

More than 2,000 jobs are possible in the near future as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process.

Now, the challenge for the recently created Blue Ribbon Commission is making sure that new contracts with the base stay local.

Sen. Steve Austria of Beavercreek said, “This commission is made up of members who have had experience both inside and outside the fence. They’re community leaders. They’re business leaders. They’re individuals in academia. All of our universities are participating.”

Those leaders will examine the contracting process with Wright-Patterson AFB to help local businesses better understand the process, which in turn could bring a boost for the entire region.

Austria said, “So that we can bring our ‘A’ game and try to win more of those contracts and bring more dollars and more jobs to our area.”

The commission will report back to Austria’s office by May 20101. Understanding the contracting process is a major goal, but it is not the only one.

“The other is to make sure we’re prepared for the future. For future BRAC’s and projects that are coming in as a result of BRAC 2005,” Austria said.

Members of the commission will also look at other state’s models for keeping a lot of these contracts local to help them determine the best business model to win more contracts.