Charleston Air Force Base
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charleston Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located in North Charleston, South Carolina. The base is home of the 437th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve 315th Airlift Wing. It is home to 51 C-17 Globemaster III's. Charleston AFB has 7,509 active duty and Air Reserve Component military and civilian personnel. They include approximately 3,964 active duty, 2,524 reservists, and 1,021 civilians. About 14,079 military retirees make their home in the Charleston area.
The air base shares two runways with Charleston International Airport.
[edit] History
The city of Charleston purchased land in 1931 to build a new airfield. In December 1941, the Army Air Corps took control of the field, and by 1942 anti-submarine mission were being flown out of Charleston Army Air Field.
Training for the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator was conducted there during World War II.
In 1946, the airfield changed to solely civilian use. In 1952, the city of Charleston and the Air Force agreed to joint-use of the runways. The Tactical Air Command re-established military operation at the base in 1952. On Mar. 1, 1956 the base was transferred to the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). In 1966 MATS became the Military Airlift Command and in October 1991, was renamed Air Mobility Command.
