Cannon Air Force Base

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Cannon Air Force Base
IATA: CVS - ICAO: KCVS
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		USAF
Elevation AMSL		4,295 ft (1,309.1 m)
Coordinates		34°22′58″N, 103°19′20″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
04/22	10,000	3,048	Concrete
13/31	8,200	2,499	PEM

Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Curry County, New Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the base as an administrative entity had a total resident population of 2,557.

1 History
- 1.1 Base Realignment and Closure, and a new mission
2 Units
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The history of the base began in the late 1920s, when a civilian passenger facility, Portair Field, was established on the site. In the 1930s, Portair was renamed Clovis Municipal Airport.

During World War II, the military began to use the facility as a bomber base. On April 8, 1943, the base was renamed Clovis Army Air Field. Flying, bombing, gunnery and photographic reconnaissance classes continued through the end of the war. The installation was deactivated in May 1947. The base was reactivated and assigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC) in 1951, and renamed Clovis Air Force Base. In 1957, Clovis AFB was renamed Cannon AFB in honor of the late General John K. Cannon, a former commander of Tactical Air Command.

Units from Cannon deployed to Thailand in 1962-1963, and Vietnam in 1964, other deployments to Thailand and Vietnam followed. In December 1965, the base’s mission changed to a replacement training unit.

On June 1, 1992, Cannon AFB was integrated into Air Combat Command as part of the reorganization of Tactical Air Command and Strategic Air Command.

[edit] Base Realignment and Closure, and a new mission

On May 13, 2005, The Base Realignment and Closure commission recommended that this base be closed. On August 25, 2005, the BRAC Commission overturned the recommendation that Cannon AFB be closed, but upheld the withdrawal of the base's fighter planes. The Air Force had until 2009 to come up with a new use for Cannon AFB, otherwise the base would be closed in 2010. On June 20, 2006, it was announced that Cannon AFB would become the new home of the 16th Special Operations Wing, expanding and realigning some aspects of the Air Force Special Operations Command headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida. This designation means that the base will receive new aircraft to replace the F-16s lost in the BRAC realignment. According to the Air Force news service, new airframes, to include the CV-22 Osprey, will be assigned to Hurlburt/Eglin as well as to the new wing at Cannon. Other potential aircraft for Cannon are AC-130U Gunships and the MC-130H Combat Talon II. The final aircraft mix between Cannon and Hurlburt Field has not been finalized. [1]

[edit] Units

Cannon Air Force Base is an F-16 fighter base, part of Air Combat Command (ACC), Twelfth Air Force. It is home to the 27th Fighter Wing, made up of the 428th, 522d, 523d, and 524th Fighter Squadrons. It is formed of the 27th Mission Support Group, 27th Maintenance Group, 27th Operations Group (OG), and 27th Medical Group. Within the 27 OG, the fighter squadrons are supported by 27th Operations Support Squadron (OSS). Cannon also is responsible for Melrose Range, an air training range near the neighboring town of Melrose, New Mexico.

[edit] Geography

Cannon AFB is located at 34°23′54″N, 103°19′40″W¹. It lies 6 miles from the town of Clovis, New Mexico and about twice that far to the town of Portales. Many military personnel reside in both towns; additionally, federally-owned military housing developments have been built within Clovis and Portales, including one section direct adjacent to the base.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 13.8 km² (5.3 mi²). 13.8 km² (5.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.19% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there are 2,557 people, 921 households, and 575 families residing on base. The population density is 185.9/km² (481.8/mi²). There are 1,087 housing units at an average density of 79.0/km² (204.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the residents is 67.97% White, 13.34% African American, 0.70% Native American, 5.71% Asian, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 6.06% from other races, and 5.91% from two or more races. 12.12% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 921 households out of which 37.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% are married couples living together, 4.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% are non-families. 37.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.16 and the average family size is 2.82.

Age-wise, the population is spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 52.8% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 0.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 153.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 171.4 males.

The median income for a household on the base is $18,465, and the median income for a family is $25,573. Males have a median income of $15,546 versus $14,635 for females. The per capita income for the base is $11,562. 12.0% of the population and 11.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.0% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.