Little Rock 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 ...

base located approximately northeast of

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. The facility covers 6,217 acres (2,516 ha) with a resident population of over 3,300 and working population of approximately 7,200. Little Rock AFB is the primary

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

training base for 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, ...

, training C-130 pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters from all branches of the US military in tactical airlift and aerial delivery. It is home to C-130H and C-130J aircraft, as well as the C-130 Center of Excellence (i.e., schools for C-130H and C-130J crews). The host unit at Little Rock AFB is the 19th Airlift Wing (19 AW), assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 18th Air Force. The wing provides the Department of Defense the largest C-130 Hercules transport fleet in the world, supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters, as well as airdropping supplies and troops into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas. Other organizations at Little Rock AFB include the 189th Airlift Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard, and the C-130 division of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. All of these organizations fly the C-130 Hercules. Little Rock Air Force Base is the fourth largest employer in the state of Arkansas, with a local economic impact of $813.6 million.

History

Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojets - 020903-o-9999r-001

Little Rock Air Force Base was authorized in 1953 and construction began on 6 November 1953. The base opened on 24 January 1955 with 6,100 acres donated by landowners, valued at $1.2 million in 1952. Communications and several storage buildings, JATO facility, ordnance igloos, track and loading platform were completed by 30 June 1955, and the base was opened to limited air traffic on 9 September 1955. The base headquarters facility was accepted 31 January 1956, and all runways and other operational concrete areas were completed by January 1957. The base was officially activated by

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC) on 1 August 1955, hosting SAC's 384th Bombardment Wing (384 BW) flying the Boeing B-47E Stratojet, and the 70th Reconnaissance Wing (70 RW) flying the RB-47 Stratojet and

KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developm ...

. In 1960, the Air Force announced that Little Rock Air Force Base would house 18 Titan II

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

s located throughout the state of Arkansas. In 1961, the 70 RW was redesignated as the 70th Bombardment Wing (Medium) and converted to the B-47, but was inactivated the following year before being declared combat-ready. In September 1962, the 154th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the Arkansas Air National Guard relocated to Little Rock AFB and reorganized as the 189th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (189 TRG). In October 1962, the 384th Bomb Wing deployed 11

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

aircraft to civilian municipal airports around the nation for dispersal alert purposes during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

. Also in 1962, SAC established the 308th Strategic Missile Wing (308 SMW) as the host organization for Little Rock AFB's Titan II missile operations, with the first of the Titan II missiles installed at a site in

Searcy, Arkansas Searcy ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statisti ...

in February 1963. In September 1964, the 384th Bomb Wing inactivated following the retirement of the B-47 from front-line service in SAC. That same year, SAC's 43d Bombardment Wing transferred from Carswell AFB, Texas with its B-58 Hustler supersonic aircraft. The 43d Bomb Wing would continue to operate at Little Rock until the B-58s were withdrawn from operational service in January 1970. In June 1965, Little Rock's 189 TRG became the first

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

unit to operate the RF-101 Voodoo and by December, had assumed the RF-101 Replacement Training Unit (RTU) mission for the entire Air Force. The same year, the base and associated flying units also participated in various relief efforts such as a tornado that ripped through

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. The city also serves as a regional shopping, ...

in April and

Hurricane Betsy Hurricane Betsy was an intense, deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida, the Bahamas, and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in September. In the 1970s the base went through significant changes, with the first

aircraft arriving in March 1970. On 31 March 1970, Little Rock Air Force Base officially transferred from SAC to

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

(TAC), with TAC's 314th Tactical Airlift Wing (314 TAW) taking over host wing responsibilities. Although SAC's 308 SMW and its Titan II ICBMs continued to be a major tenant, the base's primary mission became C-130 tactical airlift operations and training, with two operational C-130 squadrons assigned and two C-130 training squadrons assigned. In 1974, following the divestiture of C-130 tactical airlift aircraft from TAC, both the 314 TAW and Little Rock AFB transferred from TAC control to that of the Military Airlift Command (MAC). On 1 January 1976, the 189 TRG transferred being a TAC-gained unit to a SAC-gained unit when it converted to the

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

and was redesignated the 189th Air Refueling Group (189 ARG), becoming one of the first

units to be assigned to

with a concomitant requirement to maintain a 24-hour alert force at Little Rock as well as deployments to support worldwide tanker task forces.

Damascus incident

On 18 September 1980, an airman conducting maintenance on a USAF Titan II missile at Little Rock Air Force Base's Launch Complex 374-7 in Southside (Van Buren County), just north of Damascus, Arkansas, dropped a

socket Socket may refer to: Mechanics * Socket wrench, a type of wrench that uses separate, removable sockets to fit different sizes of nuts and bolts * Socket head screw, a screw (or bolt) with a cylindrical head containing a socket into which the hexag ...

which fell impacting the rocket's first stage fuel tank resulting in a leak. In response, evacuations were made in the area. The leaking fuel exploded on 19 September. The force of the blast resulted in the W53 nuclear warhead being hurled about from the launch complex's entry gate; its safety features operated correctly and prevented any loss of radioactive material. An Air Force airman was killed and the launch complex was destroyed.

Recent years

On 1 October 1986, the 189 ARG saw yet another mission change when it was redesignated as the 189th Tactical Airlift Group (189 TAG) and converted to the C-130 aircraft, with transfer of operational claimancy to MAC. Little-rock-afb-main-gate

During the 1991

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 314 TAW's two operational C-130 squadrons and the 189 TAG's C-130 squadron supported operations from both the middle east and European theaters. Later that year, the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing was redesignated as the 314th Airlift Wing (314 AW), and following the disestablishment of MAC in 1992, the base and the 314 AW were transferred to the new

Air Mobility Command The Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri, ...

(AMC). The 189 TAG was also redesignated as the 189th Airlift Group (189 AG) the same year, followed by redesignation as the 189th Airlift Wing (189 AW) in 1995. In 1993, the base and the 314 AW transferred to Air Combat Command (ACC), as part the U.S. Air Force's decision to transfer continental U.S.-based C-130s from AMC to ACC. In 1997, the U.S. Air Force reversed this decision, returning most C-130 airlift back to AMC claimancy. However, given the 314 AW's primary training mission as the Formal Training Unit (FTU) for C-130s, the base and the 314 AW were transferred to the

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), and the base's two operational Regular Air Force C-130 squadrons were organized under the 463d Airlift Group, an AMC unit. From the mid-1990s to the late 1990s, the 314 AW and the 463 AG supported the air war over Serbia and since the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, the 463 AG has supported both Operation Enduring Freedom and

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

until the 463 AG was inactivated on 1 October 2008. In its 50-year history, Little Rock Air Force Base has been operated by six Air Force Major Commands (MAJCOMs): SAC, TAC, MAC, AMC, ACC, and AETC. These represent every possible MAJCOM a continental U.S.-based operational flying base could have been assigned to except for the former

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

/ Aerospace Defense Command (ADC),

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 the current

Air Force Global Strike Command The Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready fo ...

(AFGSC). In 2012, First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

visited the Little Rock base to mark the second anniversary of the Let's Move initiative.

Major commands to which assigned

, 1 February 1955 *

, 1 April 1970 * Military Airlift Command, 1 December 1974 *

, 1 June 1992 – 1 July 1993; 1 April 1997 – present : Attached to:

, 1 April 1997 – present *

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 ...

, 1 July 1993 – 1 April 1997

Major units assigned

* 70th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 24 January 1955 – 25 October 1961 : Redesignated: 70th Bombardment Wing, 25 October 1961 – 25 June 1962 * 384th Bombardment Wing, 1 August 1955 – 1 September 1965 * 825th Air Division, 1 August 1955 – 1 June 1962 : Redesignated: 825 Strategic Aerospace Division, 1 June 1962 – 1 April 1970 * 308th Strategic Missile Wing, 1 April 1962 – 18 August 1987 * 189th Airlift Wing (various designations), 1 October 1962 – present * 43d Bombardment Wing, 1 September 1964 – 31 January 1970 * 64th Tactical Airlift Wing, 9 March 1970 – 30 May 1971 * 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 April 1971 – 1974 : Redesignated: 314th Military Airlift Wing, 1974 – 1991 : Redesignated: 314th Airlift Wing, 1991 – present * 834th Airlift Division, 1 January 1972 – 31 December 1974 * 34th Tactical Airlift Training Group, 15 September 1978 – 1 December 1991 * 463d Airlift Group, 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008 * United States Air Force Mobility Weapons School, 3 February 2003 – present * 19th Airlift Wing, 1 October 2008 – present * 913th Airlift Group, 13 July 2014 – present Mueller, Robert (1989). Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C. ,

Aircraft assigned (Strategic Air Command)

(bomber) *

Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...

(supersonic bomber) * Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter (aerial refueling aircraft) *

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

(aerial refueling aircraft)

Role and operations

Little Rock Air Force Base is the home of the 19th Airlift Wing, the host unit. There are also two major associate units located here, the 314th Airlift Wing reports to Air Education and Training Command, and the C-130 division of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School reports to Air Combat Command. Additionally, the 189th Airlift Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard is located here. The 189th AW also reports to Air Education and Training Command.

19th Airlift Wing

* 19th Operations Group : The 19th Operations Group is composed of two flying squadrons—the 41st and 61st Airlift Squadrons. The 41st is the Air Force's first active-duty combat-ready C-130J squadron. These squadrons are operational and deploy throughout the world. * 19th Mission Support Group : The 19th Mission Support Group encompasses the support and logistic functions for the base. The group includes contracting, civil engineer, communications, security forces, force support and the logistic readiness squadrons. * 19th Maintenance Group : Deploys and trains C-130 maintainers and aircraft. * 19th Medical Group : The 19th Medical Group offers family practice, pediatrics and flight medicine clinics that will provide the bulk of care. The 19th Medical Group also has women's health, physical therapy, optometry, life skills, and dental clinics along with diagnostic services and prevention programs. For specialty medical services not available in the immediate medical facility, the 19th have partnered with doctors and hospitals in the area. * 314th Airlift Wing : Directly reporting to Nineteenth Air Force at Randolph Air Force Base,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, the 314th Airlift Wing is composed of one C-130 flying squadron—the 62nd Airlift Squadron. It is the premier C-130 training base in the Department of Defense, training C-130 crew members from all branches of the service and the U.S. Coast Guard. * 314th Operations Group * 314th Maintenance Group : The 314th Maintenance Group provides direct support for the wing's primary mission forces, an AMC operational group and the Mobility Weapons School. The group’s mission includes direct sortie production, aircraft equipment support, aircraft preventive maintenance and inspections, component repair, maintenance training, and health of the fleet management. The group is composed of a command staff element and two reporting squadrons; 314th Maintenance Operations Squadron and 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

Air National Guard and Air Reserve operations

* 189th Airlift Wing (Arkansas ANG) : The Arkansas Air National Guard's 189th Airlift Wing is located on Little Rock Air Force Base and is aligned in the standard combat wing organization with the 189th AW headquarters staff, 189th Operations Group, 189th Maintenance Group, 189th Mission Support Group and the 189th Medical Group. The wing provides support to five geographically separated units: the Arkansas Air National Guard headquarters, the 123rd Intelligence Squadron and the 154th Weather Flight on Little Rock AFB, the 223rd Combat Communications Squadron in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. * 913th Airlift Group (Air Force Reserve Command) : The 913th Airlift Group is part of the 22nd Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command. The group began as the 22nd Air Force Detachment 1, activated October 2010. The detachment was re-designated the 913th Airlift Group on July 13, 2014. The group provides C-130J combat airlift capability on a world-wide scale, becoming a Reserve associate of the 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock AFB, Ark., in December 2015. The mission of the 913th is to "Train, ready and support the world's best warrior airman to project dominant and globally responsive tactical airlift." In addition, the 913th Airlift Group has extensive global reach capabilities, capable of an array of operational missions. * 96th APS (Air Force Reserve Command) : Little Rock Air Force Base is also home to the 96th Aerial Port Squadron also known as the "Combat Hogs", assigned to the 913th Airlift Group. Established in 1975, the 142 authorized personnel are one of the most recognized Aerial port squadrons in AFRC (Air Force Reserve Command). The 96th augments the 19th yearly to fill vacancies due to their AEF (Aerospace Expeditionary Force) commitments.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units are based at Little Rock Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which, although based at Little Rock, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

(AMC) * Eighteenth Air Force ** 19th Airlift Wing (host wing) *** 19th Operations Group **** 19th Operations Support Squadron **** 34th Combat Training Squadron **** 41st Airlift Squadron – C-130J Super Hercules **** 61st Airlift Squadron – C-130J Super Hercules *** 19th Maintenance Group *** 19th Medical Group **** 19th Aeromedical Dental Squadron **** 19th Aerospace Medicine Squadron **** 19th Healthcare Operations Squadron *** 19th Mission Support 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) * Twenty-Second Air Force ** 913th Airlift Group *** 96th Aerial Port Squadron *** 327th Airlift Squadron – C-130J Super Hercules *** 913th Aerospace Medical Squadron *** 913th Force Support Squadron *** 913th Maintenance Squadron *** 913th Operations Support Squadron

(ANG) * Arkansas Air National Guard ** 189th Airlift Wing *** 189th Operations Group **** 154th Training Squadron – C-130H Hercules *** 189th Maintenance Group *** 189th Medical Group *** 189th Mission Support Group

(AETC) * Second Air Force ** 82nd Training Wing *** 982nd Training Group **** 373rd Training Squadron ***** Detachment 4 (GSU) * Nineteenth Air Force ** 314th Airlift Wing *** 314th Operations Group **** 62nd Airlift Squadron – C-130J Super Hercules **** 714th Training Squadron *** 314th Maintenance Group **** 314th Maintenance Squadron **** 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 314th Maintenance Operations Squadron *** 314th Mission Support Group **** 314th Civil Engineer Squadron **** 314th Communications Squadron **** 314th Contracting Squadron **** 314th Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 314th Mission Support Squadron **** 314th Security Forces Squadron **** 314th Services Squadron *** 314th Medical Group **** 314th Medical Operations Squadron **** 314th Medical Support Squadron

(ACC) * US Air Force Warfare Center **

57th Wing The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force (USAF) United States Air Force Warfare Center, Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and wel ...

***

USAF Weapons School The USAF Weapons School is a unit of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, assigned to the 57th Wing and Space Delta 1. It is located at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Mission The mission of the USAF Weapons School is to teach gradu ...

**** 29th Weapons Squadron (GSU) – C-130H Hercules and C-130J Super Hercules *

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

** CNATT Detachment Little Rock

References

Sources

* * * 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, ). * 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. . * Mueller, Robert, ''Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982'', Office of Air Force History, 1989
Brief History of Little Rock Air Force Base
(source of history)

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1955 establishments in Arkansas Airports in Arkansas Buildings and structures in Pulaski County, Arkansas Gated communities in Arkansas Installations of the United States Air Force in Arkansas Jacksonville, Arkansas Military installations established in 1955 Populated places in Pulaski County, Arkansas