Most of the United States Air Force
bases were established during World War II (when the Air Force
was part of the Army), although some have been built in the years since then – and most of those in the Cold War. However, the Air Force is not the only US “air force” – the Marines, Army, and

Navy operate their own combat air wings
, while the Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force. These bases serve a range of functions and are not the same as

the largest US Air Force bases
. Note that the US may operate in newer air bases broad.

5

Minot Air Force Base

Established in 1957 as an Air Force Base

Notable for:

Major base for US nuclear deterrence

Aircraft:

B-52H Stratofortresses

Current service branch:

United States Air Force

Minot Air Force Base is located in Ward County in North Dakota, and even though it was originally opened 67 years ago, it is still one of the newest US Air Force bases. It is home to two major wings (the 5th Bomb Wing and the 91st Missile Wing) – both of which are part of the Air Force Global Strike Command.

USAF B-52 Flying For A Century

Photo: US Department of Defense

Minot became a major Strategic Air Command base at the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s. It was a major base for nuclear ICBMs (Minuteman IIIs), strategic bombers, and refueling aircraft. Minot Base states, “The host wing on Minot Air Force Base, the 5th Bomb Wing, operates the B-52H Stratofortress
aircraft to provide global strike and combat-support capabilities to geographic commanders.

Established in 1961 as a Naval base

Notable for:

Largest Navy master jet base

Aircraft:

F/A-18 Super Hornets, F-35C fighters

Current service branch:

United States Navy

While not the Air Force, the United States essentially operates multiple air forces, with

the Navy (together with the Marines) operating what is arguably the world’s second-most powerful air force
. Naval Air Station Lemoor is located in Kings County and Fresno County in California and is the Navy’s newest and largest master jet base.

F-14A Tomcat at NAS Lemoore in June, 1981.

Leomoore hosts four carrier wings: Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2), Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9), Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11), and Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17). It is home to over half of the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and is also the only Navy base to house the new F-35C
Lightning II stealth fighter jets.

Established in 1961 as a Navy base

Notable for:

One of two Navy strike jet pilot training facilities

Aircraft:

McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk and others

Current service branch:

United States Navy

The Naval Air Station Meridian is located in Mississippi (in Lauderdale and Kemper counties) and is one of the Navy’s two strike jet pilot training facilities. Established in 1961, it grew to become an official Naval Air Station in 1967. The base is home to over a thousand active duty personnel.

t-45 goshawk us navy

Photo: Peter Titmuss | Shutterstock

According to its website, the base now trains sailors and marines in aviation and “technical-related fields.” Meridian is home to Training Air Wing One, Training Squadron 9, Training Squadron 7, Naval Technical Training Center, Marine Aviation Training Support Squadron One, and the Regional Counterdrug Training Academy.

2

Los Angeles Air Force Base

Established in 1964 as an Air Force Base

Notable for:

Space Systems Command headquarters (and Space Base Delta 3)

Aircraft:

None (Space Force)

Current service branch:

United States Space Force

Los Angeles Air Force Base is based in El Segundo, California (just two miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport
). The base’s origins date back to 1954 and became designated as an air force base in 1987. The Los Angeles Base has around 1,400 active-duty personnel and over 7,000 assigned base personnel.

Los Angeles Air Force Base

Photo: Space Force

The Los Angeles Base now houses the Space Force’s headquarters of the Space System Command field command (established in 2021). It is also a major base in the research, development, and acquisition of military space systems. The base states, “As part of fielding, the command is responsible for launch operations, on-orbit checkout, developmental testing, sustainment and maintenance of military satellite constellations and other Department of Defense space systems.”

1

Schriever Space Force Base

Established in 1985 as an Air Force base

Notable for:

Major Space Force base

Aircraft:

None (originally major Air Force satellite base)

Current service branch:

United States Space Force

The Space Force is not the Air Force and was established as a separate service at the end of 2019. However, it remains part of the Department of the Air Force. The Schriever Space Force Base (previously the Falcon Air Force Station) first became operational in 1985 at the end of the Cold War. Schriever Space Force Base is located near Colorado Spring in Colorado (only 10 miles from Peterson Space Force Base).

US Space Force personnel

Photo: US Space Force

Today, the Schriever base is home to 8,000 military and civilian personnel and was a major base for Air Force satellite space operations before the Air Force’s space responsibilities was split off. The Space Force states, “Two years later [after groundbreaking in 1983], the 2nd Space Wing was formed, and mission capability from Onizuka AFS began transferring over to Falcon following the base’s activation on Sept. 26, 1985. The wing took operational control of the Air Force Satellite Control Network in October 1987.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *