Top military commanders and defense industry leaders will make the case for Dobbins Air Reserve Base's economic importance to Cobb County at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce's next Marquee Monday on Monday, Aug. 10.

The lunchtime panel, titled "State of the Base: United on Team Dobbins," will feature three senior officers: Maj. Gen. Konata "Deuce" Crumbly, assistant adjutant general of the Georgia Air National Guard; Brig. Gen. Michael Parks, deputy commander of the 22nd Air Force; and Col. Diane Patton, commander of the 94th Airlift Wing. Dr. Mike Gazarik, director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, rounds out the panel. Andrew Dill, director of government relations for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, will moderate.

Dobbins, located in Marietta, supports more than 5,000 military members and partners with civilian employers including Lockheed Martin and GTRI, according to the Cobb Chamber's advocacy page. Lockheed Martin's Marietta facility alone employs about 5,500 workers and has manufactured C-130 aircraft for seven decades, a production run the company calls the longest-running military aircraft line in history, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The base's most recent official economic impact figure, from fiscal year 2019, pegged its contribution to Cobb County at $181 million, according to the Air Force Reserve Command. No updated figure has been published since.

The panel follows the chamber's continued advocacy for the base. In 2025, Cobb Chamber president and CEO Sharon Mason led 51 business and community leaders to Washington, D.C., to lobby Cobb's congressional delegation. "We discussed four pillars: fostering a resilient economy, infrastructure and transportation, healthcare and the safeguarding of Dobbins Air Reserve base," Mason told Georgia Trend in a December 2025 profile of the county's economic wins.

The event also comes amid unresolved questions about the 94th Airlift Wing's aging fleet. As of mid-2025, the wing was one of three remaining Air Force Reserve installations not yet selected for an upgrade to new C-130J aircraft, according to the AJC. It was the only such unit left in Georgia.

The event runs from noon to 1 p.m. at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre at Truist Park Battery, 800 Battery Ave., Suite 500, Atlanta. Superior Plumbing is the presenting sponsor. Cobb Young Professionals will present the 2026 Next Generation Award during the session.

Registration is open at the Cobb Chamber's website.