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Little Rock Air Force Base

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Little Rock Air Force Base (IATA: LRF, ICAO: KLRF) is an United States Air Force facility located in Jacksonville, Arkansas. It is the only C-130 training base for the Department of Defense, and trains C-130 pilots, navigators, flight engineers, and loadmasters, from all branches of the US military as well as 28 allied nations, in tactical airlift and aerial delivery.

Little Rock AFB is home of C-130E, C-130H, and C-130J aircraft, as well as the C-130 Center of Excellence (schools for C-130E and C-130J crews).

The building process used over 6,000 military personnel and another 2,000 civilians. The base opened for operation on August 1, 1955. The 314th Airlift Wing is currently the host organization for the base. Other organizations at Little Rock AFB include the 463d Airlift Group, the 189th Airlift Wing, and the Mobility Weapons School. All four of these organizations fly the C-130 Hercules.

History

Construction of Little Rock Air Force Base begin on 6 November, 1953 the base was officially activated by Strategic Air Command (SAC) on 1 August, 1955, hosting SAC's 384th Bombardment Wing (BMW) and 70th Reconnaissance Wing.

In 1960, the Air Force announced that the Little Rock Air Force Base would become a base for 18 Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

In 1962, the 384 BMW deployed 11 B-47 to municipal airports around the nation for support in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also in 1962, SAC established the 308th Strategic Missile Wing as the host organization for Little Rock AFB's Titan II missile operations.

In February 1963, the first of the Titan II missiles was installed at the site chosen in Searcy, Arkansas.

In 1965 the base participated in various relief efforts. It responded in April to a tornado that ripped through Conway, Arkansas. In September they responded in Louisiana to Hurricane Betsy.

In the 1970s the base went through significant changes. The first C-130s began arriving in March that year. On 31 March, 1970, Little Rock Air Force base officially transferred from SAC to Tactical Air Command (TAC), with TAC's 314th Tactical Airlift Wing (TAW) taking over host responsibilities. 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 the 314 TAW and the base transferred to Military Airlift Command.

During the 1991 Gulf War, the 314 TAW's two operational C-130 squadrons supported operations from both the middle east and European theaters.

In 1991, the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing was redesignated the 314th Airlift Wing (AW). In 1992, the base and the 314 AW were transferred to the new Air Mobility Command (AMC). 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, however instead of transferring back to AMC, the base and the 314 AW transferred to Air Education and Training Command (AETC), and the base's two operation 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 later the 463 AG supported the Air War over Serbia.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the 463 AG has supported both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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 with the one exception of Air Defense Command.

References

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