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Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson

Coordinates: 61°15′05″N 149°48′23″W / 61.25139°N 149.80639°W / 61.25139; -149.80639 (JB Elmendorf-Richardson)
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Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Anchorage, Alaska in United States
3rd Wing Change of Command - July 2022
JB Elmendorf-Richardson is located in Alaska
JB Elmendorf-Richardson
JB Elmendorf-Richardson
Location in Alaska
Coordinates61°15′05″N 149°48′23″W / 61.25139°N 149.80639°W / 61.25139; -149.80639 (JB Elmendorf-Richardson)
TypeUS military Joint Base
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Air Force
Controlled byPacific Air Forces (PACAF)
ConditionOperational
Websitewww.jber.jb.mil
Site history
Built1940 (1940) (as Elmendorf Field and Fort Richardson)
In use2010 (2010) (as Joint Base)
Garrison information
Garrison673rd Air Base Wing (Host)
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: EDF, ICAO: PAED, FAA LID: EDF, WMO: 702720
Elevation64.9 metres (213 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
06/24 3,048 metres (10,000 ft) Asphalt
16/34 2,283.8 metres (7,493 ft) Asphalt
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson (IATA: EDF, ICAO: PAED, FAA LID: EDF) is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army's Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.[2]

The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Its mission is to support and defend U.S. interests in the Asia Pacific region and around the world by providing units who are ready for worldwide air power projection and a base that is capable of meeting USINDOPACOM's theater staging and throughput requirements.[3]

It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command (ALCOM), Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR), Joint Task Force-Alaska (JTF-AK), Eleventh Air Force (11 AF), the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.[4]

Units

Paratroopers participate in a skijoring training exercise at the base in 2021

Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson (JBER), is one of 12 Joint Bases that were created in accordance with the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's BRAC 2005 round.[5] The 673d ABW consists of four groups that operate and maintain the joint base for air sovereignty, combat training, force staging and throughput operations in support of worldwide contingencies.[6]

The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, 11th Airborne Division, and the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region.

Major units assigned are:

Activated on 30 July 2010 as the host wing combining installation management functions of Elmendorf AFB's 3rd Wing and U.S. Army Garrison Fort Richardson. The 673d ABW comprises over 5,500 joint military and civilian personnel, supporting America's Arctic Warriors and their families. The wing supports and enables three AF total-force wings, two Army Brigades and 55 other tenant units. In addition, the wing provides medical care to over 35,000 joint service members, dependents, VA patients and retirees throughout Alaska. The 673d ABW maintains an $11.4B infrastructure encompassing 84,000 acres.[7]
Responsible for maximizing theater force readiness for 21,000 Alaskan service members and expediting worldwide contingency force deployments from and through Alaska as directed by the Commander, NORTHCOM.[8]
11th Airborne Division executes continuous training and readiness oversight responsibilities for Army Force Generation in Alaska. Supports U.S. Pacific Command Theater Security Cooperation Program. On order, executes Joint Force Land Component Command functions in support of Homeland Defense and Security in Alaska.
On order, 2/11 IBCT(ABN) conducts decisive action, to include joint forcible entry, as an Army Contingency Response Force (CRF) aligned with PACOM in order to promote security and peaceful development in the Asia-Pacific region.[9]
To support and defend US interests in the Asia Pacific region and around the world by providing units who are ready for worldwide air power projection and a base that is capable of meeting PACOM's theater staging and throughput requirements.
  • Alaskan Norad Region
The Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) conducts aerospace control within its area of operations and contributes to NORAD's aerospace warning mission.
Provide ready warriors and infrastructure for homeland defense, decisive force projection, and aerospace command and control

Major Commands to which assigned

Base operating units

Major units assigned

  • 381st Intelligence Squadron (2010–present)
    (6981st with various unit designations under USAFSS)
  • 3rd Wing (2010 – present)
  • 176th Wing (2011–present) The 176th Wing (AK ANG) moved from the former Kulis Air National Guard Base to JBER in 2011.[10] Its new facilities, an area north of the flightline, were unofficially but widely nicknamed 'Camp Kulis'. The area includes a headquarters building, pararescue facility, and several other installations used by the 176th Wing.

Notable aviation accidents

On July 28, 2010, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft practicing for an upcoming airshow crashed into a wooded area within the base, killing all four aircrew members; three from the Alaska Air National Guard and one from the USAF.[11][12] The cause of the accident has been reported to be pilot error. The pilot performed an aggressive righthand turn and ignored the aircraft's stall warning, continuing the turn until the aircraft stalled due to lack of airspeed. The low altitude of the turn made it impossible for the crew to recover from the stall in time to avoid impacting the ground. The C-17 crashed just 100 yards from the site of the 1995 E-3 AWACS crash.[13]

On November 16, 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission. At approximately 1900 hours, the base reported that the aircraft was overdue and missing. Air Force rescue teams were reported to be concentrating their search for the missing plane and pilot, Captain Jeffrey Haney, in Denali National Park. The F-22's crash site was found about 100 miles north of Anchorage near the town of Cantwell, Alaska. The pilot, part of the US Air Force's 525th Fighter Squadron, was killed in the crash.[14]

After the crash, F-22s were restricted to flying below 25,000 feet, then grounded during the investigation.[15] The crash was attributed to a bleed air system malfunction after an engine overheat condition was detected, shutting down the Environmental Control System (ECS) and OBOGS. The accident review board ruled Haney was to blame, as he did not react properly to engage the emergency oxygen system.[16] Haney's widow sued Lockheed Martin, claiming equipment defects, and later reached a settlement.[17][18][19] After the ruling, the emergency oxygen system engagement handle was redesigned;[20] the system was eventually replaced by an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS).[21] On 11 February 2013, the DoD's Inspector General released a report stating that the USAF had erred in blaming Haney, and that facts did not sufficiently support conclusions; the USAF stated that it stood by the ruling.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Airport Diagram – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (PAED)" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, AK". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  3. ^ "11th Air Force". Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson: Small Business Base Contracting Information and Guidance". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Colonel Patricia A. Csànk". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  8. ^ "LIEUTENANT GENERAL DAVID J. MCCLOUD". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  9. ^ U.S. Army. (2016, April 22). 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne). Retrieved from U.S. Army: https://www.army.mil/article/166618
  10. ^ "Guard integration moves Airmen from Kulis to Elmendorf". Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Four Dead in Alaska Air Force Base Crash". cbsnews.com. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  12. ^ "Military plane crashes on training mission in Alaska, killing 4 airmen". cnn.com. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  13. ^ D'Oro, Rachel (December 13, 2010). "Pilot error blamed in July C-17 crash". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  14. ^ "Alaska Military Base Searching for Overdue F-22". cbsnews.com. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  15. ^ Fontaine, Scott and Dave Majumdar. "Air Force grounds entire F-22 fleet." Military Times, 5 May 2011.
  16. ^ USAF AIB Report on 16 November 2010 F-22A mishap (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  17. ^ Bouboushian, Jack (12 March 2012). "Pilot's Widow Calls F-22 Raptor Defective". Courthouse News Service. Archived from the original on 30 April 2012.
  18. ^ Majumdar, Dave (13 August 2012). "Settlement reached in Haney F-22 crash lawsuit". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  19. ^ "H.A.S.C. No. 112-154, F-22 pilot physiological issues." Archived 25 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine GPO. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  20. ^ "Fatal crash leads to change in F-22's backup oxygen system". Los Angeles Times. 20 March 2012. p. B1. Retrieved 13 November 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Installation of backup oxygen system in F-22 combat fleet continues". U.S. Air Force. 10 April 2014.
  22. ^ DoD IG report on 16 November 2010 F-22A mishap AIB report (Report). Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.

Attribution

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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