Dover Air Force Base

Dover Air Force Base (Dover AFB) is a base of the United States Air Force in the state of Delaware. The base is located two miles south of the city of Dover — the capital of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,394 at the 2000 census.

Dover AFB is home to the 436th Airlift Wing, known as the "Eagle Wing", and the 512th Airlift Wing, referred to as the "Liberty Wing". It is the only base to solely operate the massive C-5 Galaxy, with two active squadrons (the 3rd Airlift and 9th Airlift) and one Reserve (the 512th). It is the home base for the largest military mortuary in the Department of Defense, and has been used for processing military personnel killed in both war and peacetime. The mortuary was used in 1978 for the victims of the Jonestown mass murder/suicide, 1986 for identifying the remains of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, and in 2003 for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. It also was a major site for identifying the remains of military personnel killed in the 9/11 attacks. It is also home to the Air Mobility Command Museum.

Two sections of the 436th Aerial Port Squadron warehouse collapsed on Feb. 18, 2003, as a result of a record snow storm. No one was injured in the collapse that caused more than an estimated $1 million in damages. The damage covers two of the six cargo processing bays in the facility

The base is treated as a census-designated place called "Dover Base Housing." Since 1997, the base has been served by three highway exits (one inactive) with Delaware Route 1, allowing quick access to Dover or Southern Delaware from the complex. Dover AFB provides almost $470 million a year in revenue to the city of Dover making it the third largest industry in Delaware.

History

Construction began on Dover’s three hard-surface runways and one hangar foundation in March 1941. Originally intended as a municipal airport it was converted to an Army Air Corps base just weeks after the 7 December attacks on Pearl Harbor. On 20 December 1941, the first military unit arrived at Dover’s new airfield the 112th Observation Squadron of the Ohio National Guard which flew anti-submarine patrols off the Delaware Coast. In 1942, three B-25 Mitchell bomber squadrons arrived and assumed the anti-submarine mission. Following a 1943 construction project that lengthened the main runway to 7,000 feet, seven P-47 Thunderbolt squadrons arrived for traing in preparation for eventual involvement in the European Theater. Then, in 1944, the Air Technical Service Command chose the base to engineer, develop, and then conduct classified air launched rocket tests. The information collected during these experiments resulted in the use of air-to-surface rockets in both the European and Pacific combat theaters. On 1 February 1951, the 148th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard arrived with P-51 Mustangs. During the 1950's problems developed with many of the facilities on Dover, which had been hastily constructed to support its World War II mission. As a result a massive Civil Engineering project was undertaken to modernize the base.

On 1 April 1952 Dover was transfer to Military Air Transport Service (MATS)and became home for 1607th Air Transport Wing. A full function Hospital was completed in 1958 and base housing was expanded to handle 1,200 families in 1961. On 1 January 1966, the Military Air Transport Service was redesignated the Military Airlift Command and in conjunction with the reorganization, the 1607 ATW inactivated and the 436th Military Airlift Wing (436 MAW) activated and assumed the mission at Dover. The 436 MAW started replacing its C-141s and C-133s with the new C-5 Galaxy in 1971 and two years later, Dover became the first all C-5 equipped wing in the Air Force tradeding the last of its C-141 to Charleston AFB. When war broke out on 13 October 1973 between Israel and the combine forces of Egypt and Syria the 436 MAW responded with a 32-day airlift that delivered 22,305 tons of munitions and military equipment to Israel, which helped to end the war quickly. Some of the more memorable flights included the airdrop and test firing of a Minuteman I, Intercontinental ballistic Missile and the delivery of a 40-ton superconducting magnet to Moscow during the cold war, for which the crew received the Mackay Trophy. The 436 MAW also assisted in the evacuation of Americans from Iran on 9 December 1978 follwing the Islamic Revoulation. In March of 1989 C-5s from Dover delivered special equipment used to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. On 7 June 1989, while attending the Airlift Rodeo, a 436 MAW C-5 set a world record when it airdropped 190,346 pounds and 73 paratroopers. In October 1983, the wing flew 24 missions in support of Operation Urgent Fury, the Grenada rescue operation and later flew 16 missions to support Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama, in August 1989. During Desert Shield, the wing flew approximately 17,000 flying hours and airlifted a total of 131,275 tons of cargo in support of combat operations to free the Kingdom of Kuwait. Dover also served as a major port of entry and exit for the conflicts in the Balkans and Somalia during the latter half of the 1990s. A aircrew from Dovers 3rd Airlift Sq landed the first C-5 in Iraq in late 2003 when they landed at Baghdad International Airport.

Geography

Location of Dover Air Force Base, in Kent County, Delaware

Dover Air Force Base is located at 39°7′6″N 75°28′56″W (39.118388, -75.482272)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 3,394 people, 1,032 households, and 1,017 families residing in the base. The population density was 1,955.9/km² (5,061.6/mi²). There were 1,245 housing units at an average density of 717.5/km² (1,856.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the base was 72.57% White, 16.59% African American, 0.77% Native American, 1.86% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 2.80% from other races, and 5.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.75% of the population.

There were 1,032 households out of which 76.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 90.2% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.4% were non-families. 1.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the base the population was spread out with 40.2% under the age of 18, 16.5% from 18 to 24, 41.5% from 25 to 44, 1.7% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.

The median income for a household in the base was $34,318, and the median income for a family was $34,659. Males had a median income of $26,322 versus $20,444 for females. The per capita income for the base was $12,119. About 5.2% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

External links

• GlobalSecurity.org: Dover AFB
• Dover AFB Home Page - official site.