Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of
VC-25A aircraft with the call sign Air Force One when the president is on board, that serve the President of the United States, and the President is typically flown in and out of Andrews when travelling from Washington, D.C. by plane.[2]
The host unit at Andrews is the 316th Wing, assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is responsible for maintaining emergency reaction rotary-wing airlift and other National Capital Region contingency response capabilities critical to national security and for organizing, training, equipping and deploying combat-ready forces for Air and Space Expeditionary Forces (AEFs). The 316th Wing also provides installation security, services and airfield management to support the President, Vice President, other U.S. senior leaders and more than 50 tenant organizations and federal agencies.
The 316th Wing provides security, personnel, contracting, finance and infrastructure support for five wings, three headquarters, more than 80 tenant organizations, 148 geographically separated units, and 6,500 airmen in the Pentagon, as well as 60,000 airmen and families in the national capital region and around the world. The 316th Wing supports contingency operations in the capital of the United States with immediate response rotary-assets. It also provides security for the world's highest visibility flight line and is responsible for ceremonial support with the United States Air Force Band, Honor Guard and Air Force Arlington Chaplaincy.[3]
The wing commander is Colonel Tyler R. Schaff,[4] and the command chief master sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Thomas C. Daniels.[5]
The airfield had 5,500 feet (1,700 m) runways by 1944 when the 90th Fighter Control Squadron was formed (28 March 1944),[7] and the last Camp Springs combat units (e.g., 535th Fighter Escort Squadron) departed for World War II combat on 10 April 1944.[9] Camp Springs was expanded to become the initial headquarters of Continental Air Forces (CONAF) (activated 12 December 1944)—the 161st AAF Base Unit (CONAF) became the "Andrews Field" operating unit on 16 April 1945.[7]
Andrews Field
Andrews Field was named on 7 February 1945 in honor of
Andrews was transferred from the Army to the Air Force in 1947, and it was a
F-80 Shooting Star
, at Andrews. The long-lived and versatile training version of the F-80, the T-33, still played an important role in proficiency flying programs at Andrews more than 30 years later.
Andrews Air Force Base
B-24 Liberator
in Iceland, he was Commanding General, United States Forces, European Theater of Operations.
Andrews Air Force Base was designated on 24 June 1948, and in June 1950, Andrews rapidly became involved in combat readiness training for
Bolling AFB
.
Andrews' air defense role was strengthened in the 1950s with the latest in fighter-interceptor hardware appearing on the flight line.
F-106 Delta Darts formed the backbone of the three fighter interceptor squadrons which operated from the base until 1963.[11][verification needed
]
In the late 1950s Andrews began an annual open house and air show on base. This event later evolved into the Department of Defense Joint Services Open House, an annual event that now brings more than 700,000 visitors to the base every year. The open house is held every year over Armed Forces Day weekend.
In the years since 1959, Andrews' flight operations and importance have increased greatly. In 1961, the last of the Military Air Transport Service's flying units at Washington National Airport transferred to Andrews. This was followed a year later by the transfer to Andrews of all fixed-wing flying activities from Bolling Air Force Base. Andrews has become firmly established as the main port of entry for foreign military and government officials en route to Washington and the United States. In July 1961, the official presidential aircraft was stationed here, known as "Air Force One" when the president is on board. Before 1961, the presidential airplane had been kept at Washington National Airport and Bolling AFB.
In 1963, the Naval Air Facility (NAF), originally established at the former NAS Anacostia in 1919, moved to Andrews. The NAF handles Naval VIP flight operations. The Marine Corps detachment that flies the
FA-18 Hornet
is located here.
In a major reorganization, Headquarters Command, U.S. Air Force, was disbanded 1 July 1976, restructured under the Military Airlift Command as the 76th Airlift Division and transferred its headquarters from Bolling AFB to Andrews. The 76th remained the parent unit of the Andrews host command, redesignated as the 1st Air Base Wing.
In October 1977, the 76th Airlift Division became the 76th Military Airlift Wing. The 1st Air Base Wing was redesignated the 76th Air Base Group, and the 89th Military Airlift Wing became the 89th Military Airlift Group. The 76th MAW remained the parent unit at Andrews. On 15 December 1980, the
Bolling AFB
. The 1776th Air Base Wing was designated the "host wing" for Andrews AFB and assumed base support responsibilities.
During
Operation Desert Storm
, Andrews handled 16,540 patients in makeshift hospital facilities located in the base tennis center.
A C-32, a specially configured version of the Boeing 757-200 commercial intercontinental airliner (89th Airlift Wing)
On 12 July 1991, the 89th Military Airlift Wing was redesignated as the 89th Airlift Wing and assumed duties as the host wing at Andrews AFB. Support functions previously performed by the 1776th Air Base Wing now fall under the 89th and the 1776th was inactivated. With the consolidation of the two wings, the newly formed 89th Airlift Wing is one of the largest wings in Air Mobility Command with a work force approaching 9,000 people.
Known as "The President's Wing," the 89th Airlift Wing continues to contribute to Andrews' rich history as the elite Air Mobility Command wing for transporting VIPs around the world. Not only does Andrews provide service for America's senior officials, but also kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, popes, and local and foreign military leaders make Andrews AFB their first stop in the United States.
. The activation of the 316th prompted the transfer of the 1st Helicopter Squadron from the 89th Airlift Wing to the 316th Operations Group. In May 2007 the AFDW, as well as the 844th Communications Group, transferred from Bolling AFB to Andrews AFB.
Merger
In May 2005, several recommendations relating to Andrews AFB were made by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The most significant was to realign Naval Air Facility (NAF) Washington, by relocating its installation management functions to Andrews AFB, thereby establishing Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington.[citation needed]
BRAC also recommended relocating several offices of the Secretary of the Air Force to Andrews from leased office space in Arlington, Virginia, thereby reducing reliance on leased floor space and increasing the security for those activities by locating them within a military installation.[citation needed]
The merger with NAF Washington was effective from 1 October 2009, when the joint base was established, with the US Air Force being the lead organization providing management and support services for both installations.[12]
Although sharing parallel runways, NAF Washington was originally considered a separate air installation and maintained a separate Navy/Marine Corps–unique FAA airfield identifier of NSF and an ICAO airfield identifier of KNSF. Prior to merging, these separate airfield identifiers were discontinued on 29 March 2009 and all flight operations in and out of NAF Washington now use the Andrews AFB airfield identifiers of ADW and KADW as appropriate.[13]
On 1 October 2010; the Air Force completed the merge of the 11th Wing and the 316th. The 11th Wing became the host base organization for Joint Base Andrews.[6][14][15]
The base is widely known for serving as the home base of two Boeing VC-25 aircraft which have the call sign Air Force One while the President of the United States is on board.[16] The Boeing C-32A, which is used by the Vice President of the United States, is also based at Andrews.
The host at Andrews is the 11th Wing (11 WG), assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. The 11 WG is responsible for maintaining emergency reaction rotary-wing airlift and other National Capital Region contingency response capabilities critical to national security, and for organizing, training, equipping and deploying combat-ready forces for Air and Space Expeditionary Forces (AEFs).
See Joint Base Andrews for a list of units and aircraft now based at the installation.
There are two runways on the base; the western runway is 11,300 feet (3,400 m) in length, and the eastern runway is 9,750 feet (2,970 m) in length. Two additional runways have been removed, including a minor third runway between the two main runways, and a small T-shaped runway which was closed and demolished by 2008.[19]
For statistical purposes the base is delineated as a
2020 census, the resident population was 3,025.[23]
2020 census
Andrews AFB CDP, Maryland – Racial and Ethnic Composition (NH = Non-Hispanic) Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
There were 1,932 households, out of which 75.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 86.1% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 3.5% were non-families. 3.2% of all households were made up of individuals, none of whom was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.39 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 35.0% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 44.9% from 25 to 44, 3.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.0 males.
The median income for a household in the base was $44,310, and the median income for a family was $42,866. Males had a median income of $27,070 versus $27,308 for females. The per capita income for the base was $16,520. About 2.6% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including of the total population, 2.8% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older.
Motor sports
Andrews AFB race track (1954)
On 2 May 1954, sports car races were held at the base,[25] using a 4.3-mile (6.9 km) circuit made up of runways and other access roads.[26]
ISBN 0-912799-53-6. Retrieved 15 August 2013. Major Off-Base and Detached Installations: ... Salisbury MAP (aka Chincoteague Aux Fld; Salisbury Outlying Fld), 5 mi ESE of Salisbury, MD, 8 Feb 1943-5 Jun 1944[dubious – discuss
1254th Air Transport (later 89th Military Airlift, later Airlift) Wing, 10 July 1961–present
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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