Eglin Gulf Test Range
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Eglin Air Force Base is a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
(USAF) base in the western
Florida panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...
, located about southwest of Valparaiso in
Okaloosa County Okaloosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview. Okaloo ...
. The host unit at Eglin is the
96th Test Wing The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
(formerly the 96th Air Base 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 Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...
(AFSOC) 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 The Northrop A-17, also known as the Northrop Model 8, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F model, is a two-seat, single-engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Corps. When in ...
attack aircraft on a flight from Langley to
Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...
, Alabama.


History


Creation and World War II

Much of the base was part of a
national forest National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...
until the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in Europe when a proving ground for aircraft armament was established at Eglin. The
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...
ceded over of the
Choctawhatchee National Forest Choctawhatchee National Forest is a United States National Forest established by President Theodore Roosevelt on November 27, 1908. The supervisory headquarters was established at DeFuniak Springs and moved to Pensacola in September 1910. It ...
to the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...
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 The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. ...
, newly relocated to
Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...
, 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 The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. From October 1941 to October 1945, a
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Fixed Gunnery School operated at the base, supervised by the
75th Flying Training Wing The 75th Flying Training Wing was a flying training wing of the United States Army Air Forces. At the time, a wing controlled several multi-squadron groups. It was last assigned to the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, and was disbanded o ...
. 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 The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Proving Ground Command and stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 22 July 1949. The 1st EGMG wa ...
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-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
s, three
B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...
s, and four
F-80 Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, two p ...
s, 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 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...
, 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,Mueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Vol. 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, , p. 136. with the 1st Combat Applications Group (CAG) 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 Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...
(COIN) operations. The Special Air Warfare Center, located at
Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force S ...
, undertook to develop tactical air doctrine while training crews for special air warfare in places like
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. By mid-1963, SAW groups were in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. 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.Eglin Air Force Base – Fact Sheet : History of the 53rd Wing
. Eglin.af.mil. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
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 A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a type of weapon system that integrates advanced guidance and control systems, such as Global Positioning System, GPS, laser guidance, or Infrared ...
for the
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
,
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, and
infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...
guided bombs; two anti-armor weapon systems; and an improved hard target weapon, the
GBU-28 The GBU-28 (Guided Bomb Unit‐28) is a class laser-guided " bunker busting" bomb produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent nee ...
, used in Operation Desert Storm during the
Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. The Division was also responsible for developing the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), an Air Force-led joint project with the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
.


Late Cold War era

The
Air Force Armament Museum The Air Force Armament Museum is a military aviation museum adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base in Valparaiso, Florida, dedicated to the display of Air Force armament. It is supported by the private, non-profit Air Force Armament Museum Foundation ...
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.
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
ese 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 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
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 Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
's
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
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 The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...
(AFSC) and merged its functions with the former
Air Force Logistics Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
(AFLC). The newly created major command from this merger,
Air Force Materiel Command The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force System ...
(AFMC), 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 The 46th Test Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing's 46th Test Group was a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The wing's history dates from 1941, when the ...
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 POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...
/
MIA Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...
memorial on the western end of Eglin Boulevard. The memorial was dedicated on 15 August 1995.Factsheets : Historical Eglin events in August
. Eglin.af.mil. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
As part of the military drawdown in the 1990s, the Air Force inactivated the
33d Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
's
59th Fighter Squadron The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...
on 15 April 1999. The wing lost six aircraft and consolidated the remaining aircraft into the 58th and
60th Fighter Squadron The 60th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit that is part of the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; It is tasked with training pilots on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. History World War II Activated in ...
s. Originally selected for inactivation in 1997, Air Force officials delayed the decision in recognition of the Nomads' connection with
Khobar Towers Khobar () is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 409,549 in the city core and 658,550 in the governorate, as of 2022, Khobar forms part of ...
. The 59th reactivated as the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron on 3 December 2004, at
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...
, Nevada. The 59th falls under the 53rd Test Management Group at Eglin.Reorganization, technology, triumphs and tragedies: Eglin in the '90s , eglin, tragedies, 90s – News
TheDestinLog.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
In July 2012 the
Air Armament Center The Air Armament Center (AAC) was an Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and deployment of all air-delivered weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Weapon system ...
was inactivated. The center had planned, directed and conducted test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and controlled systems. It operated two Air Force installations, providing host support not only to Eglin AFB, but also
Kirtland AFB Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator C ...
,
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. It had included the Armament Product Directorate (Eglin), the 46th Test Wing (Eglin), the 96th Air Base Wing (Eglin), and the 377th Air Base Wing (Kirtland). The US Navy's
VFA-101 Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was a United States Navy Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) based at Eglin AFB, Florida. After the West Coast FRS for the F-14 Tomcat, VF-124, was disestablished in the mi ...
"Grim Reapers" deactivated on 23 May 2019 after seven years of F-35C training at Eglin.


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 The Choctawhatchee and Northern Railroad was one of many proposed railroad projects that never made it beyond the planning stage, this one in the Florida Panhandle. Chartered in February 1927 "To construct, acquire, maintain, lease, or operate a ...
, though military-use proposals didn't come forward until 1941. German
POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...
s 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 The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force System ...
(AFMC) 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 McKinley Climatic Laboratory is both an active laboratory and a historic site located in Building 440 on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The laboratory is part of the 96th Test Wing. In addition to Air Force testing, it can be used by other U ...
. The residential portion of the base is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
; 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 (1,874.2 km / 723.6 sqm).


Major units


96th Test Wing The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
(96 TW)

The 96 TW is the test and evaluation wing for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control (C2) 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 The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...
at
Edwards AFB Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Edwa ...
.


33d Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
(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 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
, 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 II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...
s, the wing operated, successively, F-4D and E models into the 1970s before transitioning to the
F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's des ...
. As of 1 October 2009, the 33d FW transitioned to a training wing for the new F-35. 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 United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
, the joint wing is responsible for F-35 pilot and maintainer training for the Air Force,
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
and the Navy. The first of 59 F-35s arrived from Lockheed Martin Fort Worth, Texas on 14 July 2011.First F-35 arrives at Eglin Air Force Base , eglin, first, afb – Northwest Florida Daily News
. Nwfdailynews.com (14 July 2011). Retrieved on 31 October 2011.


=

58th Fighter Squadron The 58th Fighter Squadron (58 FS) is part of the 33d Fighter Wing, a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing for the F-35A, B, and C, organized under Air Education and Training Command's 19th Air Force, at Eglin Air Force Base, Flori ...

= The 58th FS "Mighty Gorillas" are authorized to operate 24 assigned F-35A aircraft, planning and executing a training curriculum in support of USAF and international partner pilot training requirements. The F-35A is a conventional take-off and landing, low-observable, multi-role fighter aircraft, designed with 5th-generation sensors and weapons, and is able to perform
air superiority An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...
,
air interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement o ...
and
close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
missions. The F-35A made its first flight on 15 December 2006.


53d Wing The 53rd Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, which in turn reports to Headquarters Air Combat Comma ...
(53 WG)

The 53 WG is headquartered at Eglin and serves as the USAF'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 The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by ...
Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) program and subscale drone programs (located at
Tyndall AFB Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (3 ...
, Florida). The wing tests every fighter, bomber, unmanned aerial vehicle, and associated weapon system in the Air Force inventory. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, a Direct Reporting Unit (DRU) to Headquarters,
Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...
(ACC).


=

49th Test and Evaluation Squadron The 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with the 53d Wing, based at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an Air Combat Command (ACC) u ...
(49 TES)

= The 49 TES is attached to the 53d Wing but located at
Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in northwest Louisiana. Much of the base is within the city limits of Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwest ...
, Louisiana. The squadron plans, executes and reports ACC's weapon system evaluation programs for bombers (
B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Ai ...
, B-1 and
B-2 The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrate dense anti-aircraft war ...
) and nuclear-capable fighters (
F-15E Strike Eagle The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Intended for the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) program (initially called Enhanced Tactical Fi ...
and
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
). 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 missile An air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a military aircraft. Current versions are typically standoff weapons which are used to attack predetermined land and naval targets with conventional weapon, conventio ...
s,
standoff missile Standoff weapons (or stand-off weapons) are missiles or bombs which may be launched from a distance sufficient to allow attacking personnel to evade the effect of the weapon or defensive fire from the target area. Typically, they are used against ...
s, 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 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 The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, is one of six centers reporting to the Air Force Materiel Command.AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER (AFLCMC) Posted 8/3/2012 Printable Fact Sheet Le ...
, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.


Air Force Research Laboratory The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Air Force Materiel Command, Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct- ...
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 The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7th SFG) (A) is an operational unit of the United States Army Special Forces activated on 20 May 1960. It was reorganized from the 77th Special Forces Group, which was also stationed at Fort Bragg, Nort ...
(7th SFG)

In 2011, the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
's 7th Special Forces Group relocated to a newly constructed cantonment on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation from
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...
, as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 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 from that of the host unit, and rely heavily upon the host unit for day-to-day operations (sewer, power, security, recreation).


6th Ranger Training Battalion (6th RTB)

Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 6 (
Biancur Field Biancur Field, (Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field #6), , is a satellite airfield located northwest of the Main Base, 5.9 miles north-northeast of Valparaiso, Florida. It is also known as site "Test Site B6". Overview The U.S. Army Ranger fac ...
) 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 The 20th Space Surveillance Squadron (20 SPSS) is a Space Delta 2 unit located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida with the mission to execute multiplatform, tactical space warfighting domain characterization, recognition, and responsiveness to a ...
(20 SPCS)

The mission of the 20 SPCS 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 Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater ...
's space control mission. A unit of the
United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...
(USSF), the men and women of the 20th SPCS operate and maintain the AN/FPS-85 radar, the Space Force's only phased-array radar dedicated to tracking Earth-orbiting objects.


323 Squadron RNLAF 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...
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-32 The Boeing C-32 is the United States Air Force designation for variants of the Boeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. The C-32A serves the Special Air Mission, prov ...
Bs in discrete missions for the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
's
Foreign Emergency Support Team The Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) is an interagency task force of the United States government, tasked with on-call short-notice responses to terrorist incidents across the world. It consists of personnel from military, intelligence, and ...
.


919th Special Operations Wing The 919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. The 919 SOW is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at Duke Field (Eglin Air ...
(919 SOW)

The 919 SOW, located about south of Crestview and from Eglin main at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 3 (
Duke Field Duke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. History Duke Field was one of th ...
) and is the only special operations wing in the
Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...
(AFRC). In wartime or a contingency, the 919 SOW reports to
Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...
(AFSOC) at
Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force S ...
, 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.


Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD)

The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (NAVSCOLEOD) 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 Assessment Division (JAD)

Directorate of the
Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...
, JAD (formerly the
Joint Deployable Analysis Team The Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) is part of the J6 Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JDAT Mission JDAT conducts field analysis of command and control (C2) information systems and procedures producing decision-quality data to impr ...
) conducts field analysis of CJADC2 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 Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport is an airport located within Eglin Air Force Base, adjacent to the city of Valparaiso and near the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The airport was previo ...
(VPS) 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 (
Biancur Field Biancur Field, (Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field #6), , is a satellite airfield located northwest of the Main Base, 5.9 miles north-northeast of Valparaiso, Florida. It is also known as site "Test Site B6". Overview The U.S. Army Ranger fac ...
,
Duke Field Duke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. History Duke Field was one of th ...
and
Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force S ...
).


United States Air Force

Air Force Materiel Command The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force System ...
(AFMC) *
Air Force Test Center The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...
**
96th Test Wing The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
(Host wing) *** 96th Cyberspace Test Group **** 45th Test Squadron **** 46th Test Squadron **** 47th Cyberspace Test Squadron **** 48th Cyberspace Test Squadron *** 96th Operations Group **** 40th Flight Test Squadron – A-10C Thunderbolt II,
F-15C/D Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...
,
F-15E Strike Eagle The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Intended for the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) program (initially called Enhanced Tactical Fi ...
, F-15EX Eagle II,
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon A large number of variants of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon have been produced by General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and various licensed manufacturers. The details of the F-16 variants, along with major modification programs and der ...
*** 96th Maintenance Group *** 96th Mission Support Group *** *** 96th Range Group *** 96th Medical Group *
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, is one of six centers reporting to the Air Force Materiel Command.AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER (AFLCMC) Posted 8/3/2012 Printable Fact Sheet Le ...
** Armament Directorate *
Air Force Research Laboratory The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Air Force Materiel Command, Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct- ...
** Munitions Directorate * 486th Flight Test SquadronC-32B
Air Education and Training Command The Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine List of major commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was esta ...
(AETC) *
Nineteenth Air Force The Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of Unit ...
**
33rd Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
*** F-35 Academic Training Center ***
33rd Operations Group The 33d Operations Group is the flying component of the 33d Fighter Wing, assigned to Air Education and Training Command of the United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The group was first activated in ...
**** 33d Operations Support Squadron ****
58th Fighter Squadron The 58th Fighter Squadron (58 FS) is part of the 33d Fighter Wing, a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing for the F-35A, B, and C, organized under Air Education and Training Command's 19th Air Force, at Eglin Air Force Base, Flori ...
F-35A Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
****
60th Fighter Squadron The 60th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit that is part of the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; It is tasked with training pilots on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. History World War II Activated in ...
F-35A Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
**** F-35 Intelligence Formal Training Unit **** 337th Air Control Squadron *** 33d Maintenance Group **** 33d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 33d Maintenance Operations Squadron **** 33d Maintenance Squadron ** 82nd Training Wing *** 359th Training Squadron (GSU)
Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...
(ACC) *
Sixteenth Air Force The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...
** 688th Cyberspace Wing ***
690th Cyberspace Operations Group The 690th Cyberspace Operations Group, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is a United States Air Force group operating the Cyber Security and Control System weapon system. The group was established 1 April 1991 as the 6900 Communications-Compute ...
**** 692nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron (GSU) * US Air Force Warfare Center **
53d Wing The 53rd Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, which in turn reports to Headquarters Air Combat Comma ...
***
53d Test and Evaluation Group The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group is a Group (air force), group of the United States United States Air Force, Air Force. It is a part of the 53rd Wing, and is headquarters, headquartered at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The Group was originally activate ...
****
85th Test and Evaluation Squadron The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It conducts testing and evaluation for the F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, and F-16 Fighting Falcon airframes. Mission The 85th Test and Evaluation ...
– F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15EX Eagle II, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon **
350th Spectrum Warfare Wing The 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing is an active United States Air Force organization. It was activated in 2021 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing is responsible for delivering electromagnetic spectrum capabilities to 70 United States and ...
*** 350th Spectrum Warfare Group
Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...
(AFRC) *
Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...
** 926th Wing *** 926th Operation Group **** 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron (GSU) – F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-15EX Eagle II, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon Direct Reporting Units (DRU) *
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is a direct reporting unit of Headquarters, United States Air Force. It is the Air Force independent test agency responsible for testing, u ...
** Detachment 2 (GSU)


United States Army

Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC) *
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) The 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) is a Division (military), division-level special operations forces command within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The command was first established in 1989 and reorganized in 2014 gro ...
** 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)


United States Navy

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...
(USFF) *
Navy Expeditionary Combat Command The Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) is an echelon III command of the United States Navy, which serves as the single functional command to centrally manage current and future readiness, resources, manning, training and equipping of the U ...
** Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal


United States Space Force

Space Operations Command Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space warfare, space operations, cyber warfare, cyber operations, and military intelligence, intelligence field command. Headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado ...
*
Space Delta 2 Mission Delta 2 (MD2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness delta, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Mission Delta 2 tracks and monitors all human made objects from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit ...
**
20th Space Control Squadron The 20th Space Surveillance Squadron (20 SPSS) is a Space Delta 2 unit located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida with the mission to execute multiplatform, tactical space warfighting domain characterization, recognition, and responsiveness to a ...
(GSU)


Department of Defense

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...
(JCS) * J6 Directorate ( Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber) **
Joint Deployable Analysis Team The Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) is part of the J6 Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JDAT Mission JDAT conducts field analysis of command and control (C2) information systems and procedures producing decision-quality data to impr ...


Previous names

* Established as Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base, 14 June 1935 : (spelling changed on 1 February 1937 from "Valparaiso" to "Valpariso" and on 1 March 1937 back to "Valparaiso") * Eglin Field, 4 August 1937 * Eglin Field Military Reservation, 1 October 1940 * Eglin Field, 28 December 1944 * Eglin Air Force Base, 24 June 1948–present


Major commands to which assigned

* Air Corps Training Center, 9 June 1935 – 27 August 1940 * Southeast Air Corps Training Center, 27 August 1940 – 1 April 1942 :: Also assigned to Commanding General, Fourth Corps Area, United States Army, June 1941-1 April 1942 * Chief of the Army Air Corps (Direct subordination), 19 May 1941 – 1 April 1942 * AAF Proving Ground Command**, 1 April 1942 – 1 June 1945 * AAF Center, 1 June 1945 : Re-designated: AAF Proving Ground Command, 8 March 1946 : Re-designated:
Air Proving Ground Command The Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command (AAF PGC) was the primary testing command of the United States Army Air Forces (1946-47), and then the United States Air Force (1947-57). In March 1946, the Army Air Forces Center was redesignated the ...
, 10 July 1946 – 20 January 1948 *
Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command ...
, 20 January 1948 – 1 June 1948 * Air Proving Ground, 1 June 1948 : Re-designated:
Air Proving Ground Command The Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command (AAF PGC) was the primary testing command of the United States Army Air Forces (1946-47), and then the United States Air Force (1947-57). In March 1946, the Army Air Forces Center was redesignated the ...
, 20 December 1951 – 1 December 1957 * Air Research and Development Command, 1 December 1957 : Re-designated:
Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...
, 1 April 1961 – 1 July 1992 *
Air Force Materiel Command The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force System ...
, 1 July 1992 – present ** Discontinued 8 March 1946. Not related to later AAF Proving Ground Command


Major units assigned

* 84th Service Squadron (Detachment), 14 June 1935 * Section V, Eglin Field Section, 13th Air Base Squadron, 1 September 1936 * Det 13th Air Base Squadron, 1 August 1940 * 61st Air Base Group, 1 December 1940 – 17 February 1943 * Air Corps Specialized Flying School, 1 December 1940 – 1 April 1944 * Army Air Forces Proving Ground, 15 May 1941 – 30 June 1946 * 23d Composite Group : Re-designated: 1st Proving Ground Group, 29 June 1941 : Re-designated: 610th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 1 April 1944 – 30 June 1947 * 609th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 1 July 1947 – 1 July 1948 *
1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Proving Ground Command and stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 22 July 1949. The 1st EGMG wa ...
, 6 February 1946 – 1 December 1950 * 3201st Air Base Group (later Wing), 1 July 1948 – 4 February 1958 *
3200th Proof Test Group The 3200th Proof Test Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active with the Air Armament Center, based at Eglin AFB, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 July 1953. History Established by the Air Armament Center at Eglin ...
, 1 July 1948 – 1 July 1953 * Air Proving Ground Command : Re-designated: Armament Division and Test Center : Re-designated:
Air Armament Center The Air Armament Center (AAC) was an Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and deployment of all air-delivered weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Weapon system ...
, 1 July 1948 – 18 July 2012 *
550th Guided Missiles Wing The 550th Guided Missiles Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Long Range Proving Ground Division at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 December 1950. From 1949 through 1950 it ...
, 20 July 1949 – 11 December 1950 * USAF Armament Center, 14 December 1949 – 4 February 1958 * 3205th Drone Group, 26 April 1950 – 1 February 1961 * 3200th Proof Test Wing, 1 April 1951 – 1 July 1952 * 3206th Support Wing, 1 July 1953 – 20 February 1964 * 3207th Armament testing Systems *
17th Bombardment Wing 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. 17 was described at MIT as "the least random number", according to the Jargon File. This is supposedly because, in a study where respondents were asked to ...
, 1 April 1955 – 25 June 1958 * 4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron, 15 January 1958 – 30 September 1979 *
335th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 335th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The 335th was constituted on 22 August 1942 as an incorporation of the ...
, May 1958 – November 1961 * 4135th Strategic Wing, 1 December 1958 – 1 February 1963 * 1st Combat Application Group, 17 April 1962 – 5 September 1968 * USAF Special Air Warfare Center, 27 April 1962 – 1 July 1974 * 39th Bombardment Wing, 1 February 1963 – 25 February 1965 * USAF Air Warfare Center, 1 November 1963 – 1 October 1995 * 4485th Test Wing, 16 March 1964 – 30 June 1965 *
33d Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
, 1 April 1965 – present * 40th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 20 June 1965 – 15 October 1970 * USAF Armament Laboratory, 1 March 1966 – 18 July 2012 * USAF Special Operations School, 15 April 1967 – present * 3246th Test Wing, 1 July 1970 – 1 October 1992 *
919th Special Operations Wing The 919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. The 919 SOW is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at Duke Field (Eglin Air ...
, 30 July 1971 – present * 4443d Test and Evaluation Group, 1 July 1988 : Re-designated: 79th Test and Evaluation Group, 1 December 1991 – 20 November 1998 *
46th Test Wing The 46th Test Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing's 46th Test Group was a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The wing's history dates from 1941, when the ...
, 1 October 1992 – 18 July 2012 *
96th Test Wing The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
, 15 March 1994 – present *
53d Wing The 53rd Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, which in turn reports to Headquarters Air Combat Comma ...
, 1 October 1995 – present *
308th Armament Systems Wing The 308th Armament Systems Wing was a United States Air Force unit established in 1951, being activated and inactivated at different times in history. It was last assigned to the Air Armament Center, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. ...
, 27 January 2005 – 30 June 2010 * Eglin Composite Squadron
Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...


Eglin auxiliary fields

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. * Auxiliary Field 1 ( Wagner Field) : Work on Auxiliary Field 1 began 27 November 1940.History of Eglin Air Force Base
Air Armament Center Office of History
Auxiliary Field 1 is named Wagner Field for Maj. Walter J. Wagner, former commanding officer for the 1st Proving Ground, Eglin Field, who was killed 19 October 1943 in the crash of a Douglas XA-26B, s/n 41-19588, 9 miles east of Eglin Field, Valpariso, FL. Much of the Doolittle Raid and
Operation Credible Sport Operation Credible Sport was a joint project of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military in the second half of 1980 to prepare for a second rescue attempt of the Iran hostage crisis, hostages held in Iran. The concept included using a Loc ...
training took place here. The U.S. Navy used the field as an auxiliary facility for pilot training out of Whiting Field for a time, dating from early 1960. A proposal by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...
to build a multi-million dollar research installation for testing rocket fuels and components at Field 1 in early 1960 was dropped in mid-February, the chief reason for consideration being abandoned "was the possibility the military would have other uses for the field in the near future." It is also known as Site C-5. Range C-72 extends SE from Wagner Field. * Auxiliary Field 2 ( Pierce Field) : Auxiliary Field 2 is named Pierce Field for Lt. Col. George E. Pierce, killed 19 October 1942 while piloting a North American B-25C-1 Mitchell which crashed into the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
S of
Destin, Florida Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,931 at the 2020 census, up from 12,305 at th ...
.USAAF/USAF Accidents for Florida
. Accident-Report.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
Joe Baugher cites date of 19 October 1942 for loss.
joebaugher.com. 27 August 2011
It is also known as Site C-3. Between November 1966 and 1970, it was the site of the 560th Civil Engineering Squadron, also known as the Civil Engineering Field Activities Center, for the training of Red Horse personnel. * Auxiliary Field 3 (
Duke Field Duke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. History Duke Field was one of th ...
) : Auxiliary Field 3 is named Duke Field for 1st Lt Robert L. Duke, killed in the crash of a Curtiss A-25A-20-CS Shrike near
Spencer, Tennessee Spencer is a town in Van Buren County, Tennessee, Van Buren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,683 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County. It is home to Fall Creek Falls State Park. History Spencer i ...
, on 29 December 1943. He was assigned as Assistant A-3 of
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to: * Eglin (surname) * Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Flor ...
. Used as the set for the fictional 918th Bomb Group in the 1949 film ''
Twelve O'Clock High ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film directed by Henry King and based on the novel of the same name by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay Jr. It stars Gregory Peck as Brig. General Frank Savage. Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard ...
''. Field 3 was long-associated with drone operations of the 3200th and 3205th Drone Groups. Aircraft were "sanitized" (stripped of all identification) here for the failed
Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...
of Cuba. * Auxiliary Field 4 ( Peel Field) : Auxiliary Field 4 is named Peel Field for 2nd Lt. Garland O. Peel Jr., who died in the take-off crash of a Martin B-12AM of the 387th School Squadron, 2 January 1942, when he suffered engine failure. He was a gunnery school instructor at Eglin.Factsheets : Eglin Air Force Base History
. Eglin.af.mil. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
Peel Field was utilized for the filming of scenes for the 1944 film ''
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, Ame ...
''. Wartime temporary housing for NCOs located here was razed in the 1960s. In the early 1960s, while in a moribund state, one of the runways was used as an unofficial auto drag strip by local civilians. The ramp of the non-flight-rated facility now serves as a vehicle park for aircraft and armor after being expended as targets on the Eglin ranges. * Auxiliary Field 5 (
Piccolo Field Piccolo Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #5), is a closed United States Air Force field. It is located 9.3 miles northwest of Valparaiso, Florida. Overview Auxiliary Field 5 is named Piccolo Field for Capt. Anthony D. Piccolo ...
) : Auxiliary Field 5 is named Piccolo Field for Capt. Anthony D. Piccolo, who died in the crash of a North American AT-6A-NT TexanUSAAF/USAF Accidents for Florida
. Accident-Report.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
on 6 October 1942. Piccolo was the commanding officer of the 386th Single Engine Gunnery Training Squadron at Eglin. Today, the area is due north of Field Four and serves as a microwave station. A 60-foot radar antenna was installed here in April 1961. On most base maps, it is identified as Site C-4. Doolittle Raid training was conducted here. * Auxiliary Field 6 (
Biancur Field Biancur Field, (Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field #6), , is a satellite airfield located northwest of the Main Base, 5.9 miles north-northeast of Valparaiso, Florida. It is also known as site "Test Site B6". Overview The U.S. Army Ranger fac ...
) : Auxiliary Field 6 is named Biancur Field for 1st Lt. Andrew Biancur, a test pilot of the Medium Bombardment Section of the 1st Proving Ground Group, killed 8 January 1944 in the crash of a Northrop YP-61-NO Black Widow at
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to: * Eglin (surname) * Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Flor ...
. The U.S. Army Ranger facility
Camp Rudder Camp James E. Rudder (Camp Rudder) is host to the third and final phase of a nine-week training course, dubbed the "swamp phase", of the U.S. Army Ranger School. The camp is located on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation, co-located with Eglin AFB ...
is located here. It is designated Site B-6. The X-43A-LS low-speed demonstrator underwent testing out of Auxiliary Field 6 in November 2003.NASA.gov
Researchernews.larc.nasa.gov. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
* Auxiliary Field 7 ( Epler Field) : Auxiliary Field 7 is named Epler Field for Col. Robin E. Epler, deputy commander (Technical) of the
Air Proving Ground Command The Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command (AAF PGC) was the primary testing command of the United States Army Air Forces (1946-47), and then the United States Air Force (1947-57). In March 1946, the Army Air Forces Center was redesignated the ...
,
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to: * Eglin (surname) * Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Flor ...
, Florida, killed 28 January 1944 in the crash of a Douglas A-20G-10-DO Havoc NE of
Crestview, Florida Crestview is the largest city and county seat of Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 27,134 at the 2020 census, up from 20,978 at the 2010 census. With an elevation of above sea level, it is one of the highest points ...
. It is designated Site B-12. * Auxiliary Field 8 ( Baldsiefen Field) : Auxiliary Field 8 is named Baldsiefen Field for 2nd Lt. Richard Edward Baldsiefen, a gunnery instructor at Eglin, killed 4 March 1942 along with Lt. John W. Smith, in the crash of a North American AT-6A-NA Texan which came down at Auxiliary Field 4. It is designated Site C-52C. * Auxiliary Field 9 (
Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force S ...
) : Auxiliary Field 9 is named Hurlburt Field for Lt. Donald Wilson Hurlburt, killed 1 October 1943 when his Lockheed AT-18-LO Hudson gunnery trainerUSAAF/USAF Accidents for Florida
. Accident-Report.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
crashed during take-off at Eglin. After flying
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
combat missions from Great Britain and receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Hurlburt was assigned in mid-1943 to the First Proving Ground Electronics Test Unit at Eglin Field. Field 9 was named in his honor by base commander General
Grandison Gardner Major General Grandison Gardner, USAF (18 September 1892Crestview, Florida, "Col. Gardner Made Brigadier General", ''The Okaloosa News-Journal'', Friday 21 August 1942, Volume 29, Number 31, page 1. – 1 February 1973), Air Corp service number O ...
. Hurlburt's nephew was Captain Craig D. Button (noted for his mysterious flight and crash of an A-10 Thunderbolt on 2 April 1997). An official history of Eglin AFB's early years cites 2 October 1943 as the date of this accident.Angell, p. 105. * Auxiliary Field 10 ( Dillon Field) : Auxiliary Field 10 is the westernmost of the wartime Eglin airfields, located in Santa Rosa County, and is named Dillon Field for Capt. Barclay H. Dillon, test pilot of the Fighter Section of the 1st Proving Ground Group, killed 2 October 1943 when his Lockheed P-38J-5-LO Lightning crashed W of
Milton, Florida Milton is a city and county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. It is located within the Pensacola metropolitan area. The city was first Incorporated in 1844, however certain areas such as East Milton, ...
. Field 10 was later named Eglin Dillon Airdrome. Now used primarily for U.S. Navy basic flight training, the Navy refers to it as
Naval Outlying Landing Field Choctaw Naval Outlying Landing Field Choctaw is the United States Navy's designation for an auxiliary airfield that was originally constructed during World War II as Eglin Field (now Eglin Air Force Base) Auxiliary Field # 10. It is located 16.6 miles n ...
(NOLF). It is also used for
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
AVtraining, and it is expected that
F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
s assigned to the
33d Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
at Eglin Air Force Base will utilize NOLF Choctaw for training. * Auxiliary Field 11 is an unconfirmed name for a Red Horse unsurfaced east–west airstrip that shows up on
Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...
in Walton County. * The Santa Rosa Island Range Complex is part of the Eglin overwater range that provides 86,500 square miles of overwater airspace that is jointly used for a variety of test and evaluation activities and training exercises.


Demographics

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. The Eglin AFB
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP), referred to simply as the Eglin CDP until the 2010 census, had a population of 3,006 at the 2020 census, up from 2,274 at the 2010 census. It is part of the
Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin metropolitan area The Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a metropolitan area consisting of Okaloosa and Walton counties in northwest Florida, with the principal cities ...
. 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 . There were 2,320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the base was 71.8%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 14.8%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.5% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.4%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 4.2% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino people 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 A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
with connections to the base: Camp Pinchot and
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to: * Eglin (surname) * Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Flor ...
. On 6 October 1997, the
McKinley Climatic Laboratory The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is both an active laboratory and a historic site located in Building 440 on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The laboratory is part of the 96th Test Wing. In addition to Air Force testing, it can be used by other U ...
was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.


Notable residents

* Author Hunter S Thompson was stationed on Eglin from 1956 until 1958 during his enlistment with the Air Force. * Infielder
Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–1988), Pittsburgh Pirates (19 ...
was born in the base hospital in 1965. *
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
driver
Aric Almirola Aric Michael Almirola (born March 14, 1984) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Almirola previously compete ...
was born in Eglin in 1984. * John Boyd,
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
officer and military strategist who developed the
Energy–maneuverability theory Energy–maneuverability theory is a model of aircraft performance. It was developed by Col. John Boyd, a fighter pilot, and Thomas P. Christie, a mathematician with the United States Air Force, and is useful in describing an aircraft's performan ...
while stationed at Eglin. * Professional cyclist
Neilson Powless Neilson Powless (born September 3, 1996) is an American and Oneida Nation professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Powless is the first Native Americans in the United States, US Native American to compete in the To ...
, first rider of Native American ancestry to compete in the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
, was born at Eglin.


Eglin AFB in pop culture

* Movies that have been filmed in part at Eglin Air Force Base or its outlying auxiliary airfields, ''
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, Ame ...
'' in 1944, '' Twelve O' Clock High'' in 1949, ''
On the Threshold of Space ''On the Threshold of Space'' (aka ''Threshold of Space'') is a 1956 drama directed by Robert D. Webb, starring Guy Madison, Virginia Leith and John Hodiak. It was Hodiak's final film; he died six months before it was released. ''On the Thresho ...
'' in 1955 and '' Search for Paradise'' in 1956. * Thirteen airmen assigned to the 48th Recovery Squadron played a part in the 1965 James Bond movie '' Thunderball''. The airmen, all highly skilled paratroopers, assisted in a sky diving scene filmed in Miami Beach. They jumped out of an
HC-97 The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 and the first of six service-test YC- ...
in Biscayne Bay at an altitude of 1,500 feet. A quote from TSgt Lewis Roberts said, "We played the good guys and were helping James Bond destroy the villains who were about to blow up the East Coast." * Several Tom Clancy novels refer to "raking the sand traps on the officers' golf course" at Eglin as a common activity for low-security prisoners at the associated
Federal Prison Camp, Eglin Federal Prison Camp, Eglin was a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison at Biancur Field, Auxiliary Field 6, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Lacey Rose of ''Forbes (magazine), Forbes'' wrote that it "was once considered so cushy that t ...
, now closed. * F-15 Eagles from Eglin's
33rd Fighter Wing The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
, 59th Fighter Squadron, were used in the filming of the 1997 movie ''Air Force One''. * Eglin AFB appears as the default airport in the simulation software
Prepar3D ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of flight simulator programs for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed significantly from Micro ...
.


Geography


Flora and fauna

The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most
biodiverse Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth ...
locations in North America. Over 50 species threatened in Florida are found on the base, including
sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...
s that nest on its white-sand beaches and
red-cockaded woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States. It is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Description The red-cockaded woodpecker is small- to mi ...
s that thrive in its
longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...
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 An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...
, making the base home to one of the most extensive old-growth longleaf pine forests in the world.


Climate

Warm,
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
weather lasts longer than the average summer. The annual
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
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 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
, 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 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
. 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
Bomarc The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc ("Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center") (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of Nor ...
s, which inactivated in 1979. In the 1940s, captured
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...
s and American copies, Republic-Ford JB-2 LOONs, were launched out over the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
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.


Amateur radio restrictions

The US
Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulatory law, regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the ...
specifies that
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...
operators within 322 kilometers of Eglin must not transmit with more than 50 watts of power on the
70-centimeter band The 70-centimeter or 440 MHz band is a portion of the UHF radio spectrum internationally allocated to amateur radio and amateur satellite use. The ITU amateur radio allocation is from 430 to 440 MHz; however, some countries, such as ...
.


Accidents and incidents

* On August 31, 2018, a
Beechcraft Duke The Beechcraft 60 Duke is an United States, American-built twin-engine, piston-driven fixed-wing aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft has retractable tricycle landing gear and a pressurized cabin. The engines are turboch ...
crashed on Elgin Air Force Base property.


See also

*
Florida World War II Army Airfields During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Florida for antisubmarine defense in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters, attack planes, an ...
*
List of United States Air Force installations This is a list of Military base, installations operated by the United States Air Force located within the United States and abroad. Locations where the Air Force have a notable presence but do not operate the facility are also listed. Backgroun ...
*
Rocket launch site This article constitutes a list of rocket launch sites. Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. M ...
s


Notes


References

* Angell, Joseph W., "History of the Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command – Part One – Historical Outline 1933–1944", The Historical Branch, Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command, Eglin Field, Florida, 1944, reprint by Office of History, Munitions Systems Division, Eglin AFB, Florida, 1989 * Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978) ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Vol. 1, Post-World War Two Fighters, 1945–1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. * Knaack, Marcelle Size (1988) ''Post-World War II Bombers, 1945–1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1988, * Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas * Martin, Patrick, ''Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings'', 1994 * Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ). * Mueller, Robert, ''Air Force Bases Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982'', Office of Air Force History, 1989 * Pfau, Richard A., and Greenhalgh Jr., William H.
"The Air Force in Southeast Asia: The B-57G Tropic Moon III 1967–1972"
, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1978 * Ravenstein, Charles A. ''Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977''.
Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...
,
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
: Office of Air Force History 1984. . * Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers1908 to present
** ** **


External links

*
ElginLife.com
– 96th Force Support Squadron
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
(Hangar No. 1)
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
(Storehouse & Company Administration)
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
(Motor Repair Shop) {{authority control
Eglin AFB Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
1935 establishments in Florida Buildings and structures in Okaloosa County, Florida Military installations in Florida Installations of Strategic Air Command Initial United States Air Force installations Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida Census-designated places in Florida