Eglin Air Force Base


Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in western Florida, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing. The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, Command and Control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command systems.
Eglin AFB was established in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base. It is named in honor of Lt. Col. Frederick I. Eglin who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A-17 attack aircraft on a flight from Langley to Maxwell Field, Alabama.

History

Creation and World War II

Much of the base was part of a National Forest until the outbreak of war in Europe when a proving ground for aircraft armament was established at Eglin. The U.S. Forest Service ceded over 340,000 acres of the Choctawhatchee National Forest to the War Department on 18 October 1940.
Eglin Air Force Base evolved from the 1933 creation of the Valparaiso Airport, when an arrowhead-shaped parcel of was cleared for use as an airdrome.
In 1931, personnel of the Air Corps Tactical School, newly relocated to Maxwell Field, Alabama, sought a location for a bombing and gunnery range. They saw the potential of the sparsely populated forested areas surrounding Valparaiso and the vast expanse of the adjacent Gulf of Mexico.
From October 1941 to October 1945, an AAF Fixed Gunnery School operated at the base, supervised by the 75th Flying Training Wing.
At its peak during World War II, the base employed more than 1,000 officers, 10,000 enlisted personnel and 4,000 civilians.

Postwar

After the war, Eglin became a pioneer in developing the techniques for missile launching and handling; and the development of drone or pilotless aircraft beginning with the Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon, an American copy of the V-1. The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group was activated at Eglin Field, Florida, on 6 February 1946, operating out of Auxiliary Field 3. By March 1950, the 550th Guided Missiles Wing, comprising the 1st and 2nd Guided Missile Squadrons, had replaced the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group. The 2nd Guided Missile Squadron, SSM, had 62 pilots manning 14 B-17s, three B-29s, and four F-80 Shooting Stars, yellow-tailed drone aircraft used in the role of testing guided missiles.
In December 1955, the Air Munitions Development Laboratory was reassigned from the Wright Air Development Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to the Air Force Armament Center at Eglin by Headquarters Air Research and Development Command. The responsibility for development of guns, bombs, rockets, fuses, guided missile warheads and other related equipment in the armament field was transferred from the Dayton, Ohio facility at this time. Work on nuclear weapons was not included in this mission.

1960s

The USAF Special Air Warfare Center was activated 27 April 1962, with the 1st Combat Applications Group organized as a combat systems development and test agency under the SAWC. The 1st CAG concentrated on testing and evaluation of primarily short-term projects which might improve Air Force counter-insurgency operations. The Special Air Warfare Center, located at Hurlburt Field, undertook to develop tactical air doctrine while training crews for special air warfare in places like Southeast Asia. By mid-1963, SAW groups were in Vietnam and Panama.
The USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center was activated on 1 November 1963. It would be re-designated as the USAF Air Warfare Center on 1 October 1991.
With the increasing U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, the need for increased emphasis on conventional weapons development made Eglin's mission even more important. On 1 August 1968, the Air Proving Ground Center was redesignated the Armament Development and Test Center to centralize responsibility for research, development, test and evaluation, and initial acquisition of non-nuclear munitions for the Air Force. On 1 October 1979, the Center was given division status. The Armament Division, redesignated Munitions Systems Division on 15 March 1989, placed into production the precision-guided munitions for the laser, television, and infrared guided bombs; two anti-armor weapon systems; and an improved hard target weapon, the GBU-28, used in Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War. The Division was also responsible for developing the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, an Air Force-led joint project with the U.S. Navy.

Late Cold War era

The Air Force Armament Museum was founded on base in 1975. In 1981 the original building housing the museum was condemned and the facility closed until 1984.
Selected on 27 April 1975, the installation served as one of four main U.S. Vietnamese Refugee Processing Centers operated by the Interagency Task Force for Indochina Refugees, where base personnel housed and processed more than 10,000 Southeast Asian refugees, the first 374 of which arrived on board a Northwest Orient Boeing 747 on 4 May 1975.
In 1978, the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center assumed responsibility for the USAF Air Ground Operations School. In the same year, the Electronic Warfare Evaluation Program became another one of the USAFTAWC's weapons system evaluation programs, and resulted in the activation of the 4487th Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron in 1990.
Construction began in 1984 on the Bob Hope Village, the only retirement facility that caters to enlisted military, opening in February 1985. Residents pay below market value for the 256 independent apartments. Col. Bob Gates, Bob Hope's USO pilot, was key in getting the comedian's support for the undertaking, as well as lending his name to the project. He was named an honorary board member of the foundation in 1978 and held benefit concerts for nearly two decades.

Post Cold War

During a 1992 reorganization, the Air Force disestablished Eglin's parent major command, Air Force Systems Command and merged its functions with the former Air Force Logistics Command. The newly created major command from this merger, Air Force Materiel Command, remains Eglin's parent command to this day. The Development Test Center, Eglin's host unit, became part of AFMC on 30 June 1992. The 46th Test Wing replaced the 3246th Test Wing in October 1992.
On 10 August 1994 construction began on the All Conflicts' Veterans War Memorial on the site of the old POW/MIA memorial on the western end of Eglin Boulevard. The memorial was dedicated on 15 August 1995.As part of the military drawdown in the 1990s, the Air Force inactivated the 33d Fighter Wing's 59th Fighter Squadron on 15 April 1999. The wing lost six aircraft and consolidated the remaining aircraft into the 58th and 60th Fighter Squadrons. Originally selected for inactivation in 1997, Air Force officials delayed the decision in recognition of the Nomads' connection with Khobar Towers. The 59th reactivated as the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron on 3 December 2004, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 59th falls under the 53rd Test Management Group at Eglin.
In July 2012 the Air Armament Center was inactivated. The center had planned, directed and conducted test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and commanded and controlled systems. It operated two Air Force installations, providing host support not only to Eglin, but also Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. It had included the Armament Product Directorate, the 46th Test Wing, the 96th Air Base Wing, and the 377th Air Base Wing.
The US Navy's VFA-101 "Grim Reapers" deactivated on 23 May 2019 after seven years of F-35C training.

Base railroad

Initial construction of a railroad line into the region had been discussed as early as 1927 as part of the Choctawhatchee and Northern Railroad, though military-use proposals didn't come forward until 1941. German POWs were used in clearing and grading the alignment during World War II. There was one commercial customer served by the line, a lumber pulp yard at Niceville which is now community athletic fields. The line was later abandoned in the late 1970s and the southern end, west of State Road 285, lifted by the mid-1980s.

Role and operations

Eglin is an Air Force Materiel Command base serving as the focal point for all Air Force armaments. Eglin is responsible for the development, acquisition, testing, deployment and sustainment of all air-delivered non-nuclear weapons.
The base plans, directs, and conducts test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and control systems.
Severe-weather testing of aircraft and other equipment is carried out here at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory.
The residential portion of the base is a census-designated place; its population was 8,082 at the 2000 census. Eglin Air Force Base had 2,359 military family housing units. Unmarried junior enlisted members generally live in one of Eglin's seven dormitories located near the dining hall, chapel, base gym, enlisted club, and bus lines on base. Each individual unit generally handles dormitory assignments. Bachelor officer quarters are not available. Several units and one dormitory were being renovated in 2011. The base covers 463,128 acres.

Major units

[96th Test Wing] (96 TW)

The 96 TW is the test and evaluation wing for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, Command and Control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command systems. The Eglin Gulf Test Range provides approximately of over water airspace. The 96 TW supports other tenant units on the installation with traditional military services as well as all the services of a small city, to include civil engineering, personnel, logistics, communications, computer, medical, security. The 96 TW reports to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards AFB.

[33d Fighter Wing] (33 FW)

The 33d FW "Nomads" is the largest tenant unit at Eglin. The 33 FW is a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing for the F-35 Lightning II, organized under Air Education and Training Command's 19th Air Force. First established as the 33d Pursuit Group, the wing's contribution to tactical airpower during its 50-year history has been significant with participation in campaigns around the world, while flying various fighter aircraft. Reactivated at Eglin on 1 April 1965 with F-4C Phantom IIs, the wing operated, successively, F-4D and E models into the 1970s before transitioning to the F-15 Eagle. As of 1 October 2009, the 33d FW transitioned to a training wing for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The final F-15s assigned to the 33d departed the base in September 2009. As the first of its kind in the Department of Defense, the joint wing is responsible for F-35 JSF pilot and maintainer training for the Air Force, Marine Corps and the Navy. The first of 59 F-35s arrived from Fort Worth, Texas on 14 July 2011.
[58th Fighter Squadron]
The 58th FS "Mighty Gorillas" are authorized to operate 24 assigned F-35A aircraft, planning and executing a training curriculum in support of Air Force and international partner pilot training requirements. The F-35A is a conventional-takeoff-and-landing low-observable multi-role fighter aircraft, designed with 5th-generation sensors and weapons, and is able to perform air superiority, air interdiction and close air support missions. The F-35A made its first flight on 15 December 2006.

[53d Wing] (53 WG)

The 53 WG is headquartered at Eglin and serves as the Air Force's focal point for operational test and evaluation of armament and avionics, aircrew training devices, chemical defense, aerial reconnaissance improvements, electronic warfare systems, and is responsible for the QF-4 Phantom II Full Scale Aerial Target program and subscale drone programs. The wing tests every fighter, bomber, unmanned aerial vehicle, and associated weapon system in the Air Force inventory. The wing reports to the USAF Air Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, a Direct Reporting Unit to Headquarters, Air Combat Command.
[49th Test and Evaluation Squadron]
Squadron attached to the 53d Wing but located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The squadron plans, executes and reports ACC's weapon system evaluation programs for bombers and nuclear-capable fighters. These evaluations include operational effectiveness and suitability, command and control, performance of aircraft hardware and software systems, employment tactics, and accuracy and reliability of associated precision weapons. These weapons include air-launched cruise missiles, standoff missiles, and gravity bombs. Results and conclusions support acquisition decisions and development of war plans. The unit also performs operational testing on new systems and tactics development for the B-52.

Armament Directorate

The Armament Directorate, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is responsible for management of air and ground dominance weapon system programs. Led by the Air Force Program Executive Officer for Weapons, the directorate concurrently reports to the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Washington, D.C. and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

[Air Force Research Laboratory] Munitions Directorate (AFRL/RW)

AFRL/RW develops, demonstrates, and transitions science and technology for air-launched munitions for defeating ground fixed, mobile/relocatable, air and space targets to assure pre-eminence of U.S. air and space forces. The directorate conducts basic research, exploratory development, and advanced development and demonstrations. It also participates in programs focused on technology transfer, dual-use technology and small business development.

7th Special Forces Group">7th Special Forces Group (United States)">7th Special Forces Group (7th SFG)

In 2011, the United States Army's 7th Special Forces Group relocated to a newly constructed cantonment on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation from Fort Bragg, as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round realigning Fort Bragg. It is tasked with conducting special operations in Latin America.

Tenant units

Tenant units at an Air Force installation are units which have a mission that is significantly different than that of the host unit, and rely heavily upon the host unit for day-to-day operations.

6th Ranger Training Battalion">Ranger School">6th Ranger Training Battalion (6th RTB)

Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 6 is the site of Camp James E. Rudder and the home of the U.S. Army's 6th Ranger Training Battalion. The 6th RTB conducts the final phase of the U.S. Army Ranger Course. The entire course is 61 days long and is divided into three phases. Each phase is conducted at different geographical and environmental locations.

[20th Space Control Squadron] (20 SCS)

The mission of the 20 SCS is to detect, track, identify, and report near earth and deep space objects in earth's orbit, and provide space object identification data in support of United States Strategic Command's space control mission. A unit of the Air Force Space Command, the men and women of the 20th SCS operate and maintain the AN/FPS-85 radar, the Air Force's only phased-array radar dedicated to tracking earth-orbiting objects.

[323 Squadron RNLAF]

Operational Test and Evaluation squadron, operates 2 F-35A

[486th Flight Test Squadron] (486th FLTS)

This unit, which is apparently not a test squadron at all, operates Boeing C-32Bs in discrete missions for the United States Department of State's Foreign Emergency Support Team.

[919th Special Operations Wing] (919 SOW)

The 919 SOW, located about five miles south of Crestview and from Eglin main at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 3 and is the only special operations wing in the Air Force Reserve Command. In wartime or a contingency, the 919 SOW reports to Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida, its gaining major command.

AFOTEC Det 2

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center stood up Detachment 2 at Eglin to provide realistic operational testing for new and modified weapon systems.


safe to handle at the Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD">Bomb disposal">EOD)

The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal is a Navy-managed command, jointly staffed by Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps personnel. NAVSCOLEOD opened its new consolidated training facility in April 1999.

[Joint Deployable Analysis Team] ([JDAT])

Directorate of the Joint Staff, JDAT conducts field analysis of C2 information systems and procedures producing decision-quality data to improve Joint C2 integration and interoperability.

Scheduled airline service

Eglin is also one of the few military air bases in the U.S. to have scheduled passenger airline service as the Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport is co-located on the base property.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Eglin Air Force Base.
Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Eglin, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
For units permanently based at Eglin's auxiliary airfields, see the airfield's respective page.

United States Air Force

Air Force Materiel Command
Air Education and Training Command
Air Combat Command
Air Force Reserve Command '
  • Tenth Air Force
  • *926th Wing
  • ** 926th Operation Group
  • *** 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron – F-15C/E Eagle, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Air Force Space Command '
Direct Reporting Units
Special Operations Command
United States Fleet Forces Command
Joint Chiefs of Staff
A number of auxiliary fields were constructed on the Eglin reservation during World War II, many of which are still in service in various roles, either in support of flight operations or special test activities.
, retired to AMARC on 15 November 1994. This late afternoon view looks south with Santa Rosa Sound, Santa Rosa Island, home of Eglin missile launch sites since 1944, and the Gulf of Mexico beyond.|alt=
Eglin employs more than 8,500 civilians and approximately 4,500 military, with an additional 2,200 jobs due to move to Eglin under the 2005 BRAC.
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,082 people, 2,302 households, and 2,262 families residing on the base. The population density was 2,640.1 people per square mile. There were 2,320 housing units at an average density of 757.9/sq mi. The racial makeup of the base was 71.8% White, 14.8% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.2% of the population.
There were 2,302 households out of which 79.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.8% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.7% were non-families. 1.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.50 and the average family size was 3.51.
On the base the population was spread out with 43.5% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 39.6% from 25 to 44, 1.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males.
The median income for a household on the base was $31,951, and the median income for a family was $31,859. Males had a median income of $25,409 versus $19,176 for females. The per capita income for the base was $10,670. About 4.5% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older.

National historic status

There are two U.S. National Historic Landmark Districts with connections to the base: Camp Pinchot and Eglin Field.
On 6 October 1997, the McKinley Climatic Laboratory was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Notable residents

Flora and fauna

The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most biodiverse locations in North America. Over 50 species threatened in Florida are found on the base, including sea turtles that nest on its white-sand beaches and red-cockaded woodpeckers that thrive in its longleaf pine forests. The base has a natural resources management team that constantly monitors important species within the base with the goal of balancing their national defense mission with environmental stewardship. Longleaf pine forest, a forest type reduced to 5% of its former range in the last few centuries, covers of the base. Part of this forest,, is old growth, making the base home to one of the most extensive old-growth longleaf pine forests in the world.

Climate

Warm, subtropical weather lasts longer than the average summer. The annual precipitation ranges from. Year-round, the average temperatures run:
January – March: 60–69 High and 42–51 Low
April – June: 76–88 High and 58–72 Low
July – September: 86–98 High and 70–77 Low
October – December: 63–79 High and 44–69 Low
The area gets only 50 to 60 days of annual precipitation or more rainfall. There are few days without sunshine, which allows year-round outdoor activities.

Noise

In order to deal with the high noise levels of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, officials from Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties are studying which homes, businesses and public buildings will require additional noise protection.

Civil rocketry

Eglin Air Force Base was also a launch site for civil rockets of NASA. There are three launch pads: one at 29.6700 N, 85.3700 W at Cape San Blas; and two on Santa Rosa Island at 30.3800 N, 86.7400 W and 30.3800 N, 86.8170 W. Rockets launched here have included Arcas, Nike Cajun, Nike Apaches, and Nike Iroquois. This site was formerly operated by the 4751st ADMS with CIM-10 Bomarcs, which inactivated in 1979. In the 1940s, captured V-1 flying bombs and American copies, Republic-Ford JB-2 LOONs, were launched out over the Gulf of Mexico from these sites. Two concrete launch ramps were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. A rusting Loon launch ramp still exists at Auxiliary Field 1, Wagner Field.
Eglin is known to have been used for 441 launches from 1959 to 1980, reaching up to 686 kilometers altitude.