Eglin Air Force Base

History

Creation and World War II

In 1931, personnel of the Air Corps Tactical School, newly relocated to Maxwell Field, Alabama, sought a location for a bombing and gunnery range. They saw the potential of the sparsely populated forested areas surrounding Valparaiso and the vast expanse of the adjacent Gulf of Mexico.

Eglin Air Force Base evolved from the 1933 creation of the Valparaiso Airport, when an arrowhead-shaped parcel of 137 acres (55 ha) was cleared for use as an airdrome. Much of the base was part of a national forest until the 1939 outbreak of World War II in Europe when a proving ground for aircraft armament was established. The U.S. Forest Service ceded over 340,000 acres (1,400 km2) of the Choctawhatchee National Forest to the War Department on 18 October 1940.

From October 1941 to October 1945, a USAAF Fixed Gunnery School operated at the base, supervised by the 75th Flying Training Wing.

The Eglin Air Force Base was where the Doolitle Raiders were trained for their 1942 launch on Tokyo. Charles Sweeney served as a test pilot here from 1943-1944, before he flew the mission on August 9, 1945 which dropped fat man, the atomic bomb over Nagasaki.

At its peak during World War II, the base employed more than 1,000 officers, 10,000 enlisted personnel and 4,000 civilians.

Postwar

After the war, Eglin became a pioneer in developing the techniques for missile launching and handling; and the development of drone or pilotless aircraft beginning with the Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon, an American copy of the V-1. The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group was activated at Eglin Field, Florida, on 6 February 1946, operating out of Auxiliary Field 3. By March 1950, the 550th Guided Missiles Wing, comprising the 1st and 2nd Guided Missile Squadrons, had replaced the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group. The 2nd Guided Missile Squadron, SSM, had 62 pilots manning 14 B-17s, three B-29s, and four F-80 Shooting Stars, yellow-tailed drone aircraft used in the role of testing guided missiles.

In December 1955, the Air Munitions Development Laboratory was reassigned from the Wright Air Development Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to the Air Force Armament Center at Eglin by Headquarters Air Research and Development Command. The responsibility for development of guns, bombs, rockets, fuses, guided missile warheads and other related equipment in the armament field was transferred from the Dayton, Ohio facility at this time. Work on nuclear weapons was not included in this mission.

1960s

The USAF Special Air Warfare Center was activated 27 April 1962, with the 1st Combat Applications Group (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 (COIN) operations. The Special Air Warfare Center, located at Hurlburt Field, undertook to develop tactical air doctrine while training crews for special air warfare in places like Southeast Asia. By mid-1963, SAW groups were in Vietnam and Panama.

The USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center was activated on 1 November 1963. It would be re-designated as the USAF Air Warfare Center on 1 October 1991.

With the increasing U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, the need for increased emphasis on conventional weapons development made Eglin's mission even more important. On 1 August 1968, the Air Proving Ground Center was redesignated the Armament Development and Test Center to centralize responsibility for research, development, test and evaluation, and initial acquisition of non-nuclear munitions for the Air Force. On 1 October 1979, the center was given division status. The Armament Division, redesignated Munitions Systems Division on 15 March 1989, placed into production the precision-guided munitions for the laser, television, and infrared guided bombs; two anti-armor weapon systems; and an improved hard target weapon, the GBU-28, used in Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War. The Division was also responsible for developing the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), an Air Force-led joint project with the U.S. Navy.

Late Cold War era

The Air Force Armament Museum was founded on base in 1975. In 1981 the original building housing the museum was condemned and the facility closed until 1984.

Selected on 27 April 1975, the installation served as one of four main U.S. Vietnamese Refugee Processing Centers operated by the Interagency Task Force for Indochina Refugees, where base personnel housed and processed more than 10,000 Southeast Asian refugees, the first 374 of which arrived on board a Northwest Orient Boeing 747 on 4 May 1975.

In 1978, the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center assumed responsibility for the USAF Air Ground Operations School. In the same year, the Electronic Warfare Evaluation Program became another one of the USAFTAWC's weapons system evaluation programs, and resulted in the activation of the 4487th Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron in 1990.

Construction began in 1984 on the Bob Hope Village, the only retirement facility that caters to enlisted military, opening in February 1985. Residents pay below market value for the 256 independent apartments. Col. Bob Gates, Bob Hope's USO pilot, was key in getting the comedian's support for the undertaking, as well as lending his name to the project. He was named an honorary board member of the foundation in 1978 and held benefit concerts for nearly two decades.

Post-Cold War

During a 1992 reorganization, the Air Force disestablished Eglin's parent major command, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) and merged its functions with the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC). The newly created major command from this merger, Air Force Materiel Command (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 replaced the 3246th Test Wing in October 1992.

On 10 August 1994 construction began on the All Conflicts' Veterans War Memorial on the site of the old POW/MIA memorial on the western end of Eglin Boulevard. The memorial was dedicated on 15 August 1995.As part of the military drawdown in the 1990s, the Air Force inactivated the 33d Fighter Wing's 59th Fighter Squadron on 15 April 1999. The wing lost six aircraft and consolidated the remaining aircraft into the 58th and 60th Fighter Squadrons. Originally selected for inactivation in 1997, Air Force officials delayed the decision in recognition of the Nomads' connection with Khobar Towers. The 59th reactivated as the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron on 3 December 2004, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 59th falls under the 53rd Test Management Group at Eglin.

In July 2012 the Air Armament Center was inactivated. The center had planned, directed and conducted test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and controlled systems. It operated two Air Force installations, providing host support not only to Eglin AFB, but also Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. 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 "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, though military-use proposals didn't come forward until 1941. German POWs were used in clearing and grading the alignment during World War II. There was one commercial customer served by the line, a lumber pulp yard at Niceville which is now community athletic fields. The line was later abandoned in the late 1970s and the southern end, west of State Road 285, lifted by the mid-1980s.

Role and operations

Eglin is an Air Force Materiel Command (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 residential portion of the base is a census-designated place; its population was 8,082 at the 2000 census. Eglin Air Force Base had 2,359 military family housing units. Unmarried junior enlisted members generally live in one of Eglin's seven dormitories located near the dining hall, chapel, base gym, enlisted club, and bus lines on base. Each individual unit generally handles dormitory assignments. Bachelor Officer Quarters are not available. Several units and one dormitory were being renovated in 2011. The base covers 463,128 acres (1,874.2 km2 / 723.6 sqm).

Major units

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 340,000 square kilometres (130,000 sq mi) of over water airspace. The 96 TW supports other tenant units on the installation with traditional military services as well as all the services of a small city, to include civil engineering, personnel, logistics, communications, computer, medical, security. The 96 TW reports to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards AFB.

The 33d FW "Nomads" is the largest tenant unit at Eglin. The 33 FW is a flying and maintenance training wing for the F-35 Lightning II, organized under Air Combat Command's Fifteenth Air Force. First established as the 33d Pursuit Group, the wing's contribution to tactical airpower during its 50-year history has been significant with participation in campaigns around the world, while flying various fighter aircraft. Reactivated at Eglin on 1 April 1965 with F-4C Phantom IIs, the wing operated, successively, F-4D and E models into the 1970s before transitioning to the F-15 Eagle. As of 1 October 2009, the 33d FW transitioned to a training wing for the new F-35. The final F-15s assigned to the 33d departed the base in September 2009. Initially a joint wing, until 2014, the Wing was responsible for F-35 pilot and maintainer training for the Air Force, Marine Corps and the Navy. The first of 59 F-35s arrived from Lockheed Martin Fort Worth, Texas on 14 July 2011. The Marines left in 2014, and the Navy followed in 2019, with the 33 FW continuing training USAF F-35A pilots. On 10 July 2026, after a 17 year tenure in AETC, the 33rd Fighter Wing returned to Air Combat Command.

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, air interdiction and close air support missions. The F-35A made its first flight on 15 December 2006.

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 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) program and subscale drone programs (located at Tyndall AFB, 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, Nevada, a Direct Reporting Unit (DRU) to Headquarters, Air Combat Command (ACC).

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).

Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 6 (Biancur Field) 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.

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's space control mission. A unit of the United States Space Force (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.

The 323 Squadron RNLAF is a Royal Netherlands Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation squadron which operates two F-35As

486th FLTS, which is apparently not a test squadron at all, operates Boeing C-32Bs in discrete missions for the United States Department of State's Foreign Emergency Support Team.

The 919 SOW, located about five miles (8.0 kilometers) south of Crestview and 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Eglin main at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 3 (Duke Field) and is the only special operations wing in the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). In wartime or a contingency, the 919 SOW reports to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, Florida, its gaining major command.

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.

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.

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 (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, Duke Field and Hurlburt Field).

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, 10 July 1946 – 20 January 1948

Air Materiel Command, 20 January 1948 – 1 June 1948

Air Proving Ground, 1 June 1948

Re-designated: Air Proving Ground Command, 20 December 1951 – 1 December 1957

Air Research and Development Command, 1 December 1957

Re-designated: Air Force Systems Command, 1 April 1961 – 1 July 1992

Air Force Materiel Command, 1 July 1992 – present

** Discontinued 8 March 1946. Not related to later AAF Proving Ground Command

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. 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 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 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 3.2 kilometres (2 mi) S of Destin, Florida. Joe Baugher cites date of 19 October 1942 for loss. 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)

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, on 29 December 1943. He was assigned as Assistant A-3 of Eglin Field. Used as the set for the fictional 918th Bomb Group in the 1949 film Twelve O'Clock High. 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 of Cuba.

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 (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.

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,082 people, 2,302 households, and 2,262 families residing on the base. The population density was 2,640.1 people per square mile (1,019.3 people/km2). There were 2,320 housing units at an average density of 757.9 per square mile (292.6/km2). The racial makeup of the base was 71.8% White, 14.8% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 with connections to the base: Camp Pinchot and Eglin Field.

On 6 October 1997, the McKinley Climatic Laboratory was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Education

The Okaloosa County School District operates Eglin Elementary School on-post. The zoned secondary schools for on-post families are Lewis Middle School and Niceville High School.

Notable residents

Author Hunter S. Thompson was stationed on Eglin from 1956 until 1958 during his enlistment with the Air Force.

Infielder Jay Bell was born in the base hospital in 1965.

Former running back Glen Coffee was born in the base hospital in 1987

NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola was born in Eglin in 1984.

John Boyd, USAF officer and military strategist who developed the Energy–maneuverability theory while stationed at Eglin.

Professional cyclist Neilson Powless, first rider of Native American ancestry to compete in the Tour de France, was born at Eglin.

Former soccer player, member of the United States national soccer team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, Mike Bookie died in Camp Eglin in 1944 at the age of 40.

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 in 1944, Twelve O' Clock High in 1949, On the Threshold of Space 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 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, now closed.

F-15 Eagles from Eglin's 33rd Fighter Wing, 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.

Geography

Flora and fauna

The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most biodiverse locations in North America. Over 50 species threatened in Florida are found on the base, including sea turtles that nest on its white-sand beaches and red-cockaded woodpeckers that thrive in its longleaf pine forests. The base has a natural resources management team that constantly monitors important species within the base with the goal of balancing their national defense mission with environmental stewardship. Longleaf pine forest, a forest type reduced to 5% of its former range in the last few centuries, covers 200,000 acres (810 km2) of the base. Part of this forest, 6,795 acres (27.50 km2), is old growth, making the base home to one of the most extensive old-growth longleaf pine forests in the world.

Climate

Warm, subtropical weather lasts longer than the average summer. The annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 60 inches (640 to 1,520 mm). Year-round, the average temperatures run:

January–March: 60–69 High and 42–51 LowApril–June: 76–88 High and 58–72 LowJuly–September: 86–98 High and 70–77 LowOctober–December: 63–79 High and 44–69 Low

The area gets only 50 to 60 days of annual precipitation or more rainfall. There are few days without sunshine, which allows year-round outdoor activities.

Noise

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

Civil rocketry

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

Eglin is known to have been used for 441 launches from 1959 to 1980, reaching up to 686 kilometers altitude.

Amateur radio restrictions

The US Code of Federal Regulations specifies that amateur radio operators within 322 kilometers of Eglin must not transmit with more than 50 watts of power on the 70-centimeter band.

Accidents and incidents

On August 31, 2018, a Beechcraft Duke crashed on Eglin Air Force Base property.